


Mostly Modified

by TAFKAmayle



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blow Jobs, Crimes & Criminals, Cyborgs, Dirty Talk, Hand Jobs, M/M, Praise Kink, Rescue, Robotics, Semi-Public Sex, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 38
Words: 63,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TAFKAmayle/pseuds/TAFKAmayle
Summary: Jeremy aka Rimmy Tim, like most people in Los Santos, is a cyborg and a criminal. He meets Vagabond, an amazing robotics tech, in the sex shop front for the best back alley robotics shop in LS where his social ineptitude gets him in trouble. He (mostly) fixes it with his ass. But it turns out that trouble was just the beginning.TW: This fic contains a Ryan Haywood character.Dedicated to Caliope, my lovely patron saint who gave me this prompt. Thanks for your continued support!
Comments: 174
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

_ Ding, ding! _

Jeremy glanced around the shop as he entered. No one was around. _Might be busy with another customer._ He limped idly through the store’s shelves as he waited. It was a little embarrassing to have to idle in a sex shop every time he needed a repair on his robot parts. But at least he was off government radar. At least he didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg (haha) to get a repair or a replacement. 

He plucked a bottle off a shelf and immediately wished he hadn’t. It had a very raunchy name. He blushed crimson. _Great. Why do I ever pick anything up??_

“Hi, can I help you with that?” 

Jeremy hastily put the bottle back to turn to the voice he didn’t recognize. The voice had a pretty body. He was tongue-tied a minute trying to do something other than ogle the tall, handsome man in front of him. He had long, lightly colored hair and pretty blue eyes. 

“Are you...completely organic?” Jeremy muttered, eyes darting over him.

_Where are his robot parts?_

“That’s very kind,” The stranger laughed.

He leaned closer to Jeremy, who blushed furiously. His striking blue eyes moved independently. One zipped in a Z pattern and the pupil shrank and grew.

“Whoa!” Jeremy gasped, “They look identical!”

“Made it myself,” The man mused.

“No way!” Jeremy huffed, “You must be lying!”

“Tsk, not very nice to question my integrity,” the man muttered, standing up straight.

“S-Sorry, it-it just looks amazing!” Jeremy sputtered, “You’re really good!”

The man smirked at him, head tilting.

“Would you like me to show you the back room?” He offered.

“Oh! Y-Yes, please!” Jeremy answered.

He really needed his leg repaired before it gave out completely. The man took his hand and Jeremy looked down at their joined hands in surprise. _He’s holding my hand!_ He stumbled a bit, struggling to keep up with his limping gait. His leg was gonna give out before they got there. 

Jeremy was guided into the room where he always got his repairs or replacements. He probably could’ve led the way, having done this likely a hundred times already. At least. But then something that _didn’t_ happen usually, happened. The handsome stranger, the new employee, took Jeremy’s face on his hands and kissed him. 

Jeremy reeled a moment. _What?? He wants to kiss me??_ The man’s hands shoved up his shirt. Jeremy pressed back eagerly. Whatever spell he had accidentally cast on the man, he was going to fucking roll with it. The guy hummed his approval of Jeremy’s eagerness, hands running down Jeremy’s torso to his belt which he quickly undid, followed by his jeans. Jeremy pushed at the guy’s leather jacket, blushing as his jeans fell. He didn’t want to be the only one removing clothing. 

The guy pulled his hands away to shrug off the jacket, mouth staying firmly against Jeremy’s as it dropped. Jeremy’s own mouth seemed too clumsy to properly reciprocate, bumping awkwardly as the guy pulled down his underwear. Then his leg gave out. He’d have fallen if the guy hadn’t swooped in to save him. 

He half-carried Jeremy to the chair he usually sat in for repairs or replacements. After gently sitting him down, he tugged Jeremy’s jeans and underwear off over one shoe to spread his legs and push up between them. He dropped the back of the chair with one hand while the other clicked open a bottle of lube. He was apparently great at multitasking. He showed off this skill by fingering Jeremy and jacking him off at the same time, not faltering once in either motion. Jeremy thought he needed a brain implant after all just to handle both things _happening_ to him.

“Can you guess which hand is the robot one?” The man laughed.

Jeremy’s eyes opened and he propped himself up to look down at him.

“No way,” he grunted, looking over his arms, “One of them is robotic, really?”

The guy laughed again.

“You’re very flattering,” He commented lightly, “I like you telling me how good I am.”

His fingers curled in Jeremy who dropped back as he rubbed over his prostate.

“Th-That one!” He sputtered, “Th-That one’s r-robotic!”

“Nope!” The man denied gleefully, “I don’t put the robotic one inside anything I can’t see. Who knows, you could’ve had something dangerous in here.”

He wiggled his fingers and Jeremy groaned. He laughed again, clearly delighted by how he was affecting Jeremy. Then he slowly pulled his fingers out and Jeremy lifted slightly to watch him take out his cock. Which was definitely organic. He was pretty sure. _Maybe._ He squinted at the long, pale dick in the man’s hand. It was organic, wasn’t it?

“You’re wondering if it’s organic,” The guy guessed, chuckling as he pulled out a condom, “It is. You can taste it if you’re still uncertain.”

Jeremy blushed as the man winked at him before tearing open the condom wrapper and rolling it on. He rubbed more lube on himself before he braced his knees on the chair and pulled Jeremy down by his hips to meet him at the edge. Jeremy hooked a hand under the bad knee to hoist his limp leg up out of the way. Luckily both his hands were still functional so he could grip the chair with the unoccupied one as the man pressed inside him.

“Damn,” the man groaned as he slowly pushed forward, “Fuck, you’re tight. You okay, baby?”

Jeremy sucked in a huge breath as the man pressed fully into him.

“Fuck. Yes.” He breathed.

The man chuckled as he leaned down to kiss Jeremy lightly. He pushed up Jeremy’s shirt, hands running up his torso and squeezing at his pecs. Jeremy tugged at his shirt and the man leaned back to yank it over his head. Jeremy’s hands reached for his torso and smoothed over his chest. He was struggling to feel it properly. Maybe he needed a repair on his arm and hand as well. The man leaned back in and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“You ready?” He muttered.

“Y-Yes,” Jeremy squeaked, wrapping his arms around his neck.

The man rolled his hips and Jeremy groaned, head pressing into the chair. He didn’t wait any longer, quickly moving into a quick, hard pace, running his hands all over Jeremy’s body as he fucked into him. 

“Damn, you’re pretty,” he huffed into Jeremy’s ear which flamed red with embarrassment, “Come on, baby, give me some feedback. You like my cock in your tight little ass?”

Jeremy moaned, back arching as he tried to push into his thrusting. 

“There we go,” The man groaned, hips going sloppy and desperate, “Yeah, keep goin’ baby. God, you sound good.”

He braced himself on the chair while the other hand went around Jeremy’s cock. Jeremy moaned again, a shudder rippling through him as he clawed at the guy’s back, trying to hang on. He tensed up as he got close and the guy moaned, jerking forward as he came a second before Jeremy. He slumped a bit, burying his face in Jeremy’s neck. He pressed kisses there as they caught their breath and ran gentle hands over Jeremy’s body. Jeremy blushed from the gentle care he was showing him. 

He pulled back too soon for Jeremy’s tastes, but pressed another light kiss to his lips before moving to clean up. He pulled on his shirt and retrieved one of those little hand vacuum cleaner type things embarrassingly named “jizz mopper” to mop Jeremy’s jizz off his stomach. Jeremy wrinkled his nose at it.

“At least you’re not gonna have dried jizz on you,” the man laughed.

He pointed it at Jeremy’s face and turned it on and off rapidly several times. Jeremy just gave him a flat, unamused look.

“I’m making sure you’re not a ghost,” he joked, “Since your ass is supernaturally good.”

Jeremy covered his crimson face while the guy laughed entirely too hard at his own joke. He finished cleaning up and pulled Jeremy’s shirt down and his underwear up. He tugged off his shoes and pants though, bringing up the foot of the chair to poke at Jeremy’s robotic leg. 

“Huh,” he commented, eyebrows up, “This is definitely not registered. Well, then you won’t mind if I fix it for you. Free of charge since you showed me a good time.”

He grinned up at Jeremy who cleared his throat.

“I-I actually-th-that is-I, um,” he sputtered nervously.

Some how he felt like he’d be in trouble if the guy found out that was the reason he came in anyway. Before the guy could figure it out anyway, the doorknob rattled.

“What the fuck?” King grunted on the other side, “V? Why did you lock the door?”

“Our customer is indecent!” The man called out.

“I-It’s okay,” Jeremy quickly assured him.

He frowned at Jeremy before going to open the door. Jeremy wondered just how long it’d been locked and how stupid he must have been not to check. 

“Oh, hey, Rimmy,” King greeted, moving toward him, “That time already?”

The other guy rejoined them.

“Ah, you were here for the robotics,” He realized, “Sorry, I don’t really know anyone yet. Well, I definitely know _you_ now.”

He winked and Jeremy covered his face again.

“Vagabond, did you fuck Rimmy?!” King demanded.

“Yes, I did,” Vagabond proclaimed almost proudly, “Anyway, his leg gave out.”

He went to retrieve a set of tools.

“I’m not surprised,” King snorted, “He always waits until the last possible second.”

“Don’t do that,” Vagabond scolded as he rejoined them, “What if it gives out in the middle of something important?”

“Then I limp through it,” Jeremy muttered, leaning back as Vagabond hovered over his leg. 

“Aren’t you up for replacement?” King grunted.

“He definitely needs one,” Vagabond announced, “This one is totally fucked.”

“It’s a goddamn pain in the ass to get legs that fit,” Jeremy grumbled.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got one on standby for you,” King assured him gruffly, “V, it’s in the storage room. It’s fifth in the line I think. Should be easy to spot, it’s shorter than the others.”

Jeremy shot him a glare as Vagabond left the room. King raised an eyebrow, his curly mustache twitching into an amused, knowing smirk.

“Why did you hire a fucking model?!” Jeremy hissed.

“Because he’s damn good at his job?” King offered, rolling his eyes.

Just because it was true didn’t mean Jeremy was happy about it. He was never going to live down the embarrassment of bumbling his way into fucking the guy instead of getting his leg fixed. Vagabond returned with his new leg which was always a weird sight, watching someone carrying a limb, even if it was obviously robotic. He set it between Jeremy’s current legs to unhook the old one. 

“This might as well go in the dumpster,” He snorted as he dropped it on a workbench, “Seriously, come in before they’re totally fried.”

“Yes, sir,” Jeremy mumbled sheepishly as the man moved back to him.

“Good boy,” Vagabond muttered absently as he leaned over to hook in the new leg.

Jeremy jolted as it was hooked into his heart and brain, electricity pulsing up his body. He grunted, uncomfortable, but not necessarily in pain. Vagabond pushed it up, bending it at the knee in the usual test. Jeremy stretched it back out without having to be told. He rolled his ankle and wiggled his toes. 

“Great,” Vagabond commented, “Now let me look at your arm.”

He turned it and opened the wrist panel before Jeremy or King thought to warn him.

“Wait, wait!” King shouted, stepping forward, “He’s got a fully organic heart and brain.”

Vagabond scowled at him then at Jeremy.

“Are you a fucking idiot?!” He demanded, “Half an arm, a hand, and a leg and you don’t have an implant?! Get an implant!”

“No, thank you,” Jeremy grumbled.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those anti-robo hippies!” Vagabond huffed as he returned focus to Jeremy’s arm making sure to cut off the connections to his brain and heart, “No fucking wonder you can’t feel what damage you’re doing properly. Destroyed my back.”

Jeremy winced.

“S-Sorry,” he mumbled.

“It’s fine,” Vagabond muttered as he poked around in Jeremy’s arm, “You need more frequent adjustments if you’re going to go without an implant though. And your skin is practically nonexistent. You’re identifiable.”

“I can’t afford false skin like that,” Jeremy scoffed.

“Hm.”

Vagabond closed his arm and squeezed his wrist, checking that his fingers curled in properly. Jeremy bent it at the elbow, rubbing it just above the joint where organic met robotic. Vagabond went around for his other hand which stopped before the wrist and therefore had a panel on the back of his hand. Vagabond frowned at it, twisting it in his hand.

“Interesting,” he murmured, “Very rare to see only a hand.”

He opened it, cut off the connections, and fiddled only a few seconds before he was finished, closing it up again. Jeremy wiggled his fingers. _Damn, he’s good **and** quick._ Vagabond shifted the chair so he was sitting up and handed him his jeans.

“How much is this going to put me out?” Jeremy grumbled as he yanked on his jeans.

“Probably should’ve discussed that prior to letting it happen,” King snorted.

“Take it from my paycheck,” Vagabond offered, “You showed me a pretty nice time, Rimmy.”

Jeremy blushed, avoiding eye contact.

“Seriously, I’ll pay,” He grunted, holding his credit chip out to King.

“I’ll charge for the leg,” King suggested, taking it, “Vagabond can cover labor since he stopped working to fuck you.”

Vagabond smirked as King left the room and Jeremy pulled on his shoes.

“555-3472,” Vagabond recited.

Jeremy blushed. What?!

“My number,” Vagabond explained, “I’d like to see you again.”

Jeremy was crimson. _How?! Why?! Me?! Fucking **me**?!_ Vagabond kissed his cheek.

“You’re pretty cute,” he cooed.

Jeremy did not think that was accurate. Especially in comparison to the man who was clearly a model.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeremy was panting and sweating, holding his broken hand to his guts as he made his way towards his car. Somehow he’d managed to smash the thing in an incredibly strong window. It crushed his panel in such a way that he couldn’t get it open to cut it off from his heart and brain. This is the sort of thing implants were for. If an intense enough pain signal registers, the implant would turn off the hand to prevent you from feeling it. 

As it stood, his arm was on fire from the way his crushed hand sent jolts up it. He needed a repair. No, more likely a replacement, but taking it off would do for now. He sighed as he got in his car and pulled out his phone. King‘s shop was closed and he refused to give Jeremy his personal number. Matt and Fiona were out of town for a convention.

_ Vagabond. _

The name screamed at him from the bottom of his contact list. He hadn’t texted the man in the two weeks following the epic dicking episode out of pure embarrassment and social ineptitude. It was really rude to call him for a favor. But Jeremy didn’t really have options. His hand could fry his heart or his brain if he ignored it too long. So he called.

“Hello!” Someone (presumably Vagabond) greeted cheerfully.

“H-Hi, um, this is Rimmy Tim,” Jeremy mumbled, “We met at King’s. I was wondering if you could help me with my hand. It’s an emergency.”

“Sure, I’d love to give you a hand,” Vagabond joked, “471 East Primrose.”

_Wow, that was easy._

“Thank you,” Jeremy muttered, puffing out a sigh of relief. 

“No problem,” Vagabond assured him.

They hung up and Jeremy tapped in the address. He noted that it was 3am with a jolt. _The hell is he doing awake and chipper??_

~

Vagabond opened his garage for Jeremy to park in. He had a motorcycle to one side, but the garage was otherwise fairly empty, plenty of space for Jeremy’s car. Vagabond was fully dressed and smiling at him from the door to the house and the garage door started shutting.

“Good morning, Rimmy,” he greeted cheerfully as Jeremy got out of his car, “Rough night?”

He raised his eyebrow at where Jeremy was holding his hand against himself still.

“I crushed it in a window,” he admitted tiredly as they went inside the house, “I can’t get it open to disconnect.”

“You must be in a great deal of pain,” Vagabond muttered as he led him down a set of stairs to a basement, “I’ll get it off for you. I think I have a spare hand you can use until you’re able to get your proper size. You may have to deal with having a wrist twice as long though.”

He guided Jeremy into a chair like the one at King’s and turned to retrieve some tools while Jeremy glanced around. Counters, at about hip-height wrapped around nearly the entirety of the room, minus where there was a door and where the stairs were. They were covered in tools and parts, looking rather unorganized and between spaces for a chair or a stool, there were cabinets. These were apparently Vagabond’s workbenches. 

“This is gonna hurt pretty bad, probably,” Vagabond announced as he rolled a chair over to Jeremy, “Not much I can do about that, so just bear with me.”

“Okay,” Jeremy grunted, nervous.

The second one of Vagabond’s tools touched him, new, fresh hell zapped up his arm. He cried out, pressing his head back against the chair and clenching his teeth. Electricity was burning up his nerves on its way to his heart and he wanted to cry, but couldn’t physically make tears come out of his eyes. He was burning alive, fire ants chewing up his veins and heart pounding against his bones. It took fifty years for the hand to come off. Vagabond rubbed his forearm above the socket as the pain died out and Jeremy caught his breath.

“You alright, darlin’?” He murmured, “I know that was pretty bad.”

“Fine, I’m fine,” Jeremy huffed, “Gimme a sec.”

“Take your time,” Vagabond instructed, “I’ll wait until you’re ready to attach a new hand. Well, not _new._ You’ll probably have an older model.”

“That’s fine, thank you so much,” Jeremy mumbled, “How much do I owe you?”

“You could let me take you on a date and we could call it even,” Vagabond suggested, grinning.

Jeremy blushed.

“Feels like I’m getting more out of this than you are,” he muttered, looking away.

“You can pay for dinner,” Vagabond offered.

Jeremy rubbed a tired hand over his face.

“Sure, but please not now,” he grunted, “I’m exhausted.”

“Well, I have a comfy bed,” Vagabond informed him, “You should stay over. I’ll take your arm and leg to tune up and you can sleep upstairs.”

“I’m too tired to argue,” Jeremy muttered.

Vagabond laughed before disconnecting his arm and leg. Then he hoisted him up and carried him up the stairs and through his house. Jeremy really was too tired to process anything as he was settled on a very comfortable bed with heavenly silken sheets. He was out like a light.

~

When Jeremy woke up without his limbs in an unfamiliar bed, he of course panicked. He immediately looked for a weapon, but found none. He relaxed as he recalled why he was there and where “there” was. _Right. Vagabond fixed me and let me stay over._ Jeremy’s stomach clenched. 

He didn’t like being vulnerable in front of people. Missing half his body parts was definitely vulnerable. And he’d been carried there like a child. Slept like a rock. Vagabond could’ve hurt him in his sleep. He swallowed around his heart lodged in his throat. He could’ve, but he _didn’t._

He’d helped Jeremy out without hesitation. He’d offered to tune up his leg and arm too. And he was accepting a date as payment. He was obviously a good guy. Didn’t stop Jeremy from hating being weak around him. Jeremy turned to get out of bed.

He hoisted himself up on his foot and braced himself on the nightstand with the wrist socket as he moved around it to lean on the wall for support. He slowly but surely inched his way to the open bathroom door. He hated going to the bathroom without his hands. Sitting down was so much more complicated. People with vaginas deserved more credit than they got for all that maintenance. He rubbed his wrist over his face. _What the hell am I thinking about right now? I’m scrambled._

“Sorry to disturb,” Vagabond suddenly spoke up from the door, “Would you like a hand?”

He held up a robotic hand with a grin. Jeremy glared at him, but reached out the wrist socket for it. Vagabond came and hooked it in then backed off so Jeremy could finish his business. When he was done, he helped him back to the bed where his arm and leg were laying. Once he was whole again, Jeremy puffed out a relieved sigh. Then he wiggled the new fingers, looking over the new hand. 

It was only a tiny bit more than he needed, just a sliver of extra wrist. And it was covered in false skin. Not his tone nor was it as good as Vagabond’s, but still pretty decent. Seemed like an older, slightly clunkier model too, but totally fine as a place holder. Better than any other back alley he might’ve used as he waited for a new one.

“So I suppose you’ll be off now?” Vagabond murmured, almost sounding disappointed.

“Yeah, I have a job to finish,” Jeremy muttered as he got back up, “And more sleep to have.”

“Not a morning person, huh?” Vagabond laughed as Jeremy got dressed, “You’re a bit grouchy.”

“Mornings are for birds and psychopaths,” Jeremy grumbled.

“Well, that’s not very nice,” Vagabond huffed, _“I’m_ a morning person.”

“I noticed,” Jeremy snorted as he finished tying his shoes, “So you must be a loon in some way.”

Vagabond laughed more than necessary as he walked Jeremy back to the garage and opened the door.

“We’ll coordinate for our date,” He informed Jeremy, “I’ll text you.”

_Right, I forgot about that._

“O-Okay,” Jeremy mumbled, “And thanks again for helping me.”

“No problem,” Vagabond assured him, “I can’t resist a damsel in distress.”

He kissed Jeremy’s blushing cheek and Jeremy hurried to get in his car, managing to trip only a little on the way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? Is this feelings being caught?? 👀


	3. Chapter 3

_ Ding, dong! _

Jeremy nervously straightened his jacket for the millionth time before hurrying to open the door. Vagabond smiled like the sun at him and held out a single velvety red rose. Jeremy blinked at it in surprise. 

“Wh-Where did you get an organic rose??” He demanded, reaching for it.

“You flatter me again, Rimmy,” Vagabond laughed as Jeremy brought the rose to his nose, “That’s synthetic. I made it myself.”

Jeremy stared at it in utter shock. 

“It looks amazing!” He finally blurted, “And it smells like a rose too!”

“Thank you, I’m so happy you like it,” Vagabond answered, “Are you ready to go?”

Jeremy carefully placed the rose on the table by the door before picking up his wallet and keys from it. 

“Where are we going anyway?” He asked as he locked his door, “You just said wear nice clothes.”

“It’s a surprise,” Vagabond replied, grinning at him as they walked down Jeremy’s front path, “And you certainly are wearing nice clothes. You clean up nice.”

Jeremy blushed, brushing a nervous hand over his hair. 

“Not as good as you,” he grumbled.

Vagabond was wearing a blue silk shirt with his black slacks and blazer, his long hair held back by a jeweled clasp. How dare he come to Jeremy’s door looking like he stepped out of a magazine?! _Model._ Jeremy looked like the store brand version of him. Even though he was wearing his best button up, jacket, and slacks, he looked cheap, especially by comparison. 

“I disagree,” Vagabond insisted as he opened the passenger door for Rimmy, “I think you look great.”

Jeremy frowned as he slid into Vagabond’s car. He’d hoped they were taking the bike. He liked riding bikes when he could get the chance. Which wasn’t often. But he couldn’t complain about having a date. After all, he got so few. 

~

Jeremy stared up at the restaurant with a small frown. It was one of those fancy ones that served spoonful portions of everything and wine so fancy you couldn’t pronounce the name. Not exactly what he had in mind. He felt self-conscious, completely out of place. He tugged nervously at his sleeves and gloves, hoping his shitty robot parts weren’t showing.

Vagabond put his hand on the small of his back, startling him. 

“Is something wrong?” He questioned as he gently led Jeremy up the steps, “You look anxious.”

“This place is really nice,” Jeremy mumbled.

“Ah, I see,” Vagabond answered, “You’re worried about the cost.”

“No, not that,” Jeremy denied as Vagabond held the door for him, “More...I just don’t feel like I fit here. I’m a low class thief.”

“Please don’t say that too loudly,” Vagabond murmured as they stepped toward the host.

“Name?” The host prompted.

“Vagabond,” Vagabond replied.

The host stiffened slightly.

“Ah, sir, I didn’t recognize you,” they muttered, “My apologies. This way please.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at Vagabond as they followed the host. Vagabond winked at him, smiling a little almost-smirk of amusement, but providing no answers as to what the fuck was going on. They were led through the restaurant, into the back, and down a set of stairs to a wine cellar where a small two-person table was set up. Jeremy blushed as Vagabond pulled his chair out for him. He sat, fidgeting as he picked up the menu. _He went through a lot of effort for this, didn’t he?_

They ordered and the host bowed formally before leaving. Jeremy avoided eye contact by looking around the room. There was an insane amount of wine. Did people really drink this much? He’d never really been a fan himself. Mostly because wine, like most alcohol, tasted disgusting. He preferred the newer stuff. Stuff manufactured to taste like a sweet summer breeze. 

“Well, at least I fit better down here,” he snorted.

Vagabond raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Because I’m also quite dry,” Jeremy answered his look.

Vagabond laughed, shaking his head.

“You’re something else, Rimmy,” he mused.

“Somehow, I feel I’ve heard this before,” Jeremy muttered.

“Shall we pick a bottle?” Vagabond offered, gesturing toward the racks.

“I don’t like wine,” Jeremy admitted, shrugging, “I won’t be any use.”

Vagabond smiled warmly at him, eyes sparkling in the low light. Jeremy was struck by how beautiful he was with the warm light of the flickering candles dancing across his face. He fit this place, so high class and pretty. Why was this man wasting his time on Jeremy when he was so clearly out of his league? Jeremy was pretty sure they weren’t even playing the same game.

“I’d like to know something,” Vagabond murmured, “Is there a specific reason why you didn’t take off your wrist for the prosthetic? Most people do when they lose a hand since the wrist panels are more convenient.”

Jeremy rubbed the hand in question self-consciously.

“I lost my hand last,” he confessed, “By the time it got chopped off, I’d started to feel like...like I was losing my humanity. Like if I lost too much more I’d be more robot than human.”

“I see,” Vagabond muttered, “I’m very sorry for bringing that up. That must be difficult for you.”

Jeremy shrugged.

“Being so robotic does have its advantages,” he admitted, “I’m a boxer and I can fight robots or humans with these hands.”

“You fight robots?” Vagabond questioned, eyebrows up.

“Sometimes,” Jeremy confirmed.

“So you do underground fighting and stealing?” Vagabond murmured, “That’s quite a dangerous life.”

“Sure is!” Jeremy chirped, grinning.

Vagabond laughed again, looking amused with Jeremy’s answer.

~

“Come here, I want to show you something before we leave,” Vagabond instructed as they finished eating.

“Is it your dick?” Jeremy guessed as he followed Vagabond through the wine racks.

“I could show you that too,” Vagabond laughed.

Jeremy blushed a bit. He wouldn’t say _no_ to fucking in the wine cellar of the high class restaurant. He’d be overjoyed if it got so rigorous they broke some bottles too. This place made him itch to destroy. Vagabond stopped in front of a rack and slid a bottle from one of the holes. He handed it to Jeremy who looked down at it with a small frown. The date on the bottle was June 4th, the year he was born.

“H-How the hell did you know my birthday?!” He demanded, looking back up at Vagabond.

Vagabond grinned mischievously. Jeremy carefully slid the bottle back in place which made the other man frown before Jeremy all but tackled him. He smashed his mouth on Vagabond’s and got a pleasant reaction. Vagabond shoved him up against the wine rack, the bottles clinking as he pressed up against Jeremy. 

He quickly got Jeremy’s pants opened and let them drop out of his way as he yanked Jeremy’s boxers down. He pulled back slightly and reached inside his blazer to retrieve a small bottle of lube. Jeremy blushed crimson as he realized Vagabond had anticipated fucking him. Maybe not _here_ exactly, but he had expected it. Meaning he was well aware how hot Jeremy was for him. Jeremy buried his hot face in Vagabond’s chest as the man reached around him to get his lubed fingers inside him. 

“Look at you being all shy,” he cooed, as though he wasn’t pushing a finger into Jeremy’s asshole, “You’re so adorable.”

“No!” Jeremy protested into his shirt.

“Mm, I knew I was going to fuck you before I got you home,” Vagabond mused, “You’re so cute and eager. How can I resist such a treat as sweet as you?”

Jeremy’s face couldn’t possibly get any hotter. _He didn’t anticipate me wanting him, he anticipated **him** wanting **me.**_ Jeremy’s heart fluttered and he very firmly told it to fuck off. Vagabond pressed kisses to his scalp and his burning ear as he worked him open. Jeremy leaned back a bit when he was ready.

“I-I’m ready,” he sniffled, rubbing his teary eyes with his blazer sleeves where they’d dropped over his hands, “I-I can take it.”

“Oh god,” Vagabond breathed, “I’m gonna come in my pants. You’re so fucking cute.”

Jeremy covered his returning blush while Vagabond fumbled with his own belt. Jeremy lowered his hands a bit, now having them curled over his mouth so he could watch Vagabond put a condom on and lube up. His dick really was pretty. Jeremy wanted to put it in his mouth, but at a later date. It was going in his ass now. 

“You’re very flattering,” Vagabond laughed, as he carefully pulled one of Jeremy’s feet from his pants and underwear, “You’re going to give me a big head with the way you stare at my dick like it’s the best you’ve ever seen.”

Jeremy didn’t want to admit that it probably was. Vagabond hoisted him into the air while he squeaked and recovered his face completely. Vagabond pressed his back to the wine rack behind him to help keep him up as he guided his cock into Jeremy’s ass. Jeremy’s legs squeezed around Vagabond’s waist as he slid down his cock easily, no resistance. He gripped at Vagabond’s shoulders and moaned, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. Vagabond shuddered against him.

“You feel so good, baby,” he groaned, hands squeezing Jeremy’s ass, “Sound even better. You sing so pretty for me.”

Jeremy groaned softly, his blush darkening at the praise. Vagabond rocked back and forward a few times to ensure Jeremy was ready before he looped an arm around him and really started moving, jarring him against the wine rack as he bounced him up and down. Jeremy scrambled to try to hold tighter at the sudden quick pace. Vagabond’s hips slammed against his ass frantically like he was desperate to get off. Jeremy could do nothing but try to hang on.

“Oh fuck, baby, y-you’re so good, so hot, I need you so bad,” Vagabond panted between nipping at Jeremy’s throat, “Been dreamin’ ‘bout your t-tight little ass, h-how good you feel on my cock, how pretty you look m-moanin’ and cryin’ for it. How f-fuckin’ _good_ you s-sound.”

Jeremy’s body was buzzing, the praise flowing through him like the shocks from attaching his limbs. Vagabond wrapped his hand around Jeremy’s leaking cock and Jeremy jerked, back pressing harder into the wine rack as he tried to move down into Vagabond’s thrusting. This shifted angle was the right one and he cried out as Vagabond’s cock rubbed roughly against his prostate. 

Jeremy seized up and came over Vagabond’s hand and his own shirt. Vagabond moaned, face twisting up as he thrust deep into Jeremy and halted movement. He huffed, falling forward a bit to brace himself on the rack while he pressed gentle kisses against Jeremy’s neck. 

“Fucking Christ,” he muttered into Jeremy’s neck, “Remind me to acknowledge special occasions more.”

Jeremy snorted, bursting into a fit of giggles. Vagabond laughed too, his chest rumbling against Jeremy’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope nothing bad happens to these two adorable gay cyborgs.


	4. Chapter 4

Jeremy dodged a jab and slammed a hook into his opponent as his phone started ringing. He frowned as he followed the hook with a kick to their ribs with the robotic leg. They flew to the side and toppled over the ropes, falling to the ground on the other side. He got out his phone, grateful the match had pretty much been over already when it displayed “Vagabond” on the screen. 

“Hello?” He greeted as he made his way out of the ring.

“Hi, hello, sorry to bother you,” Vagabond returned, words rushing out, “I-I’m in a bit of trouble. I really need some assistance. I’m sort of stuck-“

_Bang, bang!_

Jeremy flinched at the sound of gunfire.

“Shit!” Vagabond hissed, “Will you fuck off?! You can’t kill me, you fucking morons!”

_ Bang, bang, bang! _

“Where are you?” Jeremy questioned, grabbing his stuff.

“Oh, I-you’re-okay, o-old office building on, uh, on 41st,” Vagabond sputtered, “I-I’m on the sixth floor, p-please hurry! Also please do not tell anyone!”

“I’m on my way,” Jeremy assured him.

“Th-Thank you!” Vagabond shouted, “Thank you so much!”

He hung up and Jeremy hurried out of the building, not bothering to collect his winnings. Vagabond was way too pretty to be in a gunfight. 

~

With Vagabond distracting his opponents, Jeremy had little trouble taking out about half of them before they really noticed he was there. It helped his aim was pretty decent. As the group focused on him, Vagabond was able to help to some degree, though his aim was utter garbage. 

“Alright, that’s the last of them!” Jeremy shouted, “Don’t shoot, I’m coming over!”

“I wouldn’t be able to hit you anyway!” Vagabond called back.

It became apparent why that was when Jeremy rounded the corner. Vagabond’s robot eye had a bullet in it. He got winged too it looked like, in the organic arm. He kept his gun pointed at Jeremy as he crouched to check the damage.

“You didn’t tell anyone where you were going?” He questioned.

“No, you said not to,” Jeremy muttered, “Come on, we better move before backup gets here.”

Vagabond gripped his arm, stumbling along as Jeremy led him to the elevator.

“You really never go without the eye?” Jeremy grunted, “Like ever?”

“Only when it needs repairing,” Vagabond answered, “The lack of depth perception is more than a little unnerving.”

He was gripping Jeremy a little too tightly with his robot arm. 

“Your arm needs repair too,” Jeremy guessed, gripping his hand, “You’re leaving bruises, buddy.”

“How’d you get here so fast?” Vagabond asked instead of loosening his grip.

“I was fighting nearby,” Jeremy muttered, as he tried to urge Vagabond’s hand to unclamp.

Vagabond slammed him against the elevator wall, pinning his arm to it and pressing his other hand firmly against Jeremy’s chest.

“Who sent you?” He growled.

“You did, asshole!” Jeremy snapped, _“You_ asked me to come!”

Vagabond’s organic eye darted between his and over his face. Looking for signs of lying, Jeremy guessed.

“What’s your game, why would you drop what you were doing to rescue me?” He pressed.

“I owe you a favor,” Jeremy reminded him, “Since your date ended up being paid for entirely by you. Not to mention, you went through extra effort for it. And I...like you.”

Vagabond stared at him a long moment before the elevator dinging startled him out of his trance. He let go of Jeremy.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “That was very rude of me. I’m just...exhausted.”

“It’s okay,” Jeremy dismissed as he led him out of the building, “I’d be a bit paranoid too if I’d just been attacked by a small army. You gonna tell me what this is about?”

“No.”

“Fair enough,” Jeremy relented easily, “I’m not really sure I want to know.”

“You don’t,” Vagabond assured him.

When they got in his car, Jeremy punched in Vagabond’s address, but before he could put the car on auto, Vagabond grabbed his wrist.

“No, we need to make sure no one’s following first,” He pointed out, “You can drive manual, can’t you?”

“Er, yeah, right, that makes sense,” Jeremy muttered.

He drove around for awhile, ensuring no one was tailing them before heading for Vagabond’s place. It occurred to him suddenly, as he helped Vagabond into his house, that he really didn’t know anything about the man. He hadn’t shared a single personal detail with Jeremy. None of his interests, nothing about his past, not even anything he enjoyed. Except for fucking Jeremy, anyway. He was quite vocal about how he enjoyed that. 

“Thank you, you should go,” Vagabond grunted as Jeremy got him to the basement, “I’ve asked plenty of you already.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna leave,” Jeremy snorted, “First of all, you need first aid. Second, you’re in no condition to fight if someone shows up.”

“I wasn’t asking a question,” Vagabond pointed out coolly as he popped out his eye, “Get out.”

“Not happening,” Jeremy insisted, “Where’s your first aid?”

Vagabond sighed heavily.

“You don’t understand,” he muttered, “I’ve already asked too much of you.”

“I disagree,” Jeremy countered, “You’ve been very nice to me, I owe it to you to return the favor.”

Vagabond stopped where he was picking up a new eye and his head dropped.

“The bathroom in the master bedroom has my first aid below the sink,” he murmured.

Jeremy smiled lightly as he hurried up the stairs to retrieve it. Finally he could do something for Vagabond for a change. Then he wouldn’t feel like this relationship was as unbalanced any more. Vagabond’s eye was back in place by the time Jeremy got back down to the basement. He put something away as Jeremy came over to patch up his graze.

“Rimmy, your organs, are they all organic?” He asked as Jeremy sprayed anesthetic on his wound.

“Yes, sir,” Jeremy confirmed, “All that I still have anyway. I don’t have my appendix any more.”

He pulled the wound together to start stitching it up.

“And you really have no brain implants?” Vagabond prompted.

“Not a one,” Jeremy agreed.

Vagabond was quiet as Jeremy finished patching him up and helped him with his arm. Then Jeremy walked him to his bed just in case he tripped or something with how utterly exhausted he looked. Jeremy put away the first aid and sat on his bed next to him.

“I’ll guard you while you sleep,” he offered, “In case that army comes around.”

“I...thank you,” Vagabond murmured, “I’m very sorry you got mixed up in this, but...I’m glad to see you.”

Jeremy blushed, running a nervous hand through his hair.

“I’m glad to see you too,” he admitted, “Now try to get some rest.”

Vagabond’s eyes closed and he fell asleep quickly, though it was a very uneasy looking sleep. Jeremy sighed quietly. _What did you get yourself into?_

_~_

Vagabond was quiet. Which was weird, considering his size. Not that he was fat or anything, just that he was broad and tall. He didn’t look like someone who should be able to sneak up on Jeremy like that. But he did _and_ he caught the back-handed punch Jeremy sent at his nose. 

“Fuck, you scared me!” Jeremy huffed, clutching his chest.

“Not a very good guard, are you?” Vagabond snorted.

He wrapped his arms around Jeremy’s waist and nuzzled Jeremy’s ear. 

“Y-You’re inhumanly quiet!” Jeremy argued, blushing, “I-It’s not my fault.”

“Listen, about earlier-“ Vagabond began.

“It’s okay really,” Jeremy interrupted, “You were stressed out and tired.”

“And here I was about to give you a nice apology,” Vagabond mused, hand sliding down Jeremy’s belly.

“W-Well, I-I should at least hear it then,” Jeremy mumbled, clearing his throat, “I-It would be rude n-not to.”

Vagabond smirked against his ear as he reached Jeremy’s fly.

“Oh?” He prompted, as he unbuttoned Jeremy’s jeans, “Would you like to hear my apology and my gratitude?”

“Y-Yes, please,” Jeremy breathed, clutching at Vagabond’s arms for support.

“Well, since you asked so politely,” Vagabond murmured as he dragged Jeremy’s zipper down, “I suppose I can’t refuse.”

Jeremy puffed out a tiny moan as Vagabond’s hand pushed inside his boxers. 

“You have a beautiful cock, Rimmy,” He whispered in Jeremy’s ear as his hand closed around it.

Jeremy shuddered, groaning as warmth pulsed through him at the praise. Vagabond stroked him as he pulled him free of his clothes, pushing them down a bit. He paused, leaning over Jeremy’s shoulder to peek down at him. Jeremy blushed badly as he realized Vagabond was noticing he’d shaved.

“Did you do that for me?” Vagabond questioned.

Jeremy gripped the edge of his shirt, nodding shakily, unable to make words come out. Yes, he’d been shaving lately with the hopes Vagabond would call on him. Vagabond pulled back and twisted Jeremy around, pressing him up against the door he’d been looking out. He gripped the back of Jeremy’s neck to kiss him deeply as his other hand continued stroking him. Jeremy fumbled, trying to go for his belt, but Vagabond pushed his hands away.

“Shh, baby, just let me take care of you,” He murmured, lips trailing down Jeremy’s throat, “You’ve been such a good boy for me, l’m gonna reward you, okay? I need you to just be still for me, you can do that, can’t you?”

“Y-Yes,” Jeremy squeaked.

“Good boy,” Vagabond purred, kissing his lips lightly.

Then he lowered to his knees and Jeremy’s almost gave out at the image alone. His hands fisted in his own shirt and his body trembled as Vagabond ran his tongue up the side of his cock. If there were any doubts about the status of his tongue being organic, they were dismissed as it licked over the head of his cock. Not that he had doubts, it’d been in his mouth enough he was already pretty sure. 

Vagabond was looking up at him as he closed his mouth around Jeremy, sucking lightly as he moved forward. His robotic eye was moving, looking all over Jeremy while the organic one stayed fixed on Jeremy’s. It was actually sort of unnerving, but the whole getting his dick sucked thing was enough distraction from it. Fuck, did the man look pretty with his lips stretched over Jeremy’s cock. 

He choked as Jeremy reached the back of his throat and swallowed around him to ease him in. Jeremy moaned, head thunking against the door as he shuddered. Vagabond tugged his jeans and underwear down and groped his bare ass as he pushed forward the last inch or so, burying his face in Jeremy’s pelvis. He was choking, his throat squeezing around Jeremy and then he groaned.

Jeremy jolted, moaning at the vibrations shuddering up his cock to the rest of his body. Vagabond let go of his ass and it looked like he put his hand between his own legs, but Jeremy couldn’t see much from this angle. Then he was moving, pulling back and pushing forward smoothly, easily like he did this sort of thing a lot. 

Jeremy was fucking _glad_ if he did, it felt so amazing. He was panting and moaning, struggling to keep himself upright and still. Vagabond brushed his fingers over his thigh, where his robotic leg met the organic part. He shuddered at the featherlight touches on his inner thigh and tensed against the door as he came. 

He slumped a bit, suddenly feeling very sleepy as he slid partway down the door. Vagabond pulled back to get his clothes back up and his own back in order. Jeremy blushed at the splatter of come between his feet. Vagabond had gotten off on blowing him. Vagabond grabbed some paper towels as Jeremy tried to get his land legs back and wiped up his own mess. 

“You alright, Rimmy?” He asked gently, caressing Jeremy’s cheek.

Jeremy nodded.

“Bit tired,” he mumbled.

“I should think so,” Vagabond chuckled, “You’ve been up for awhile protecting me. Come on, let’s get you in your car.”

He guided Jeremy through the house and into his car. He crouched by the open door, squeezing Jeremy’s hand. He looked down at their joined hands.

“Thank you,” he murmured, “For all of this. Especially after I was so rude to you. You had every right to tell me off, but you stuck around. Thank you. I’m sorry for my behavior. I...am not used to being around actually good people.”

He kissed Jeremy’s hand which made Jeremy blush brightly and looked up at him with a hesitant sort of smile.

“You really seem to be a good man,” he added, “I wasn’t sure there _were_ any good guys.”

Jeremy brushed his hand over his hair.

“I’m pretty sure you’re exaggerating,” he muttered, “But really, if you want to see a good guy, look in the mirror. You’ve been more than good to me. Thank you for helping me out so much and thank you for trusting me enough to let me try to return the favor at least somewhat.”

Vagabond stared at him a moment before something seemed to settle in his eyes, like he’d made a decision. He stood and kissed Jeremy lightly on the lips.

“I’ll see you later, darlin’,” He murmured, caressing Jeremy’s cheek again, “Stay safe.”

“No way in hell,” Jeremy snorted.

Vagabond laughed as he stepped back to let Jeremy close the door. He waved as the car started and kept waving for as long as Jeremy could see him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Communication and honesty in my fic? 👀


	5. Chapter 5

_Vagabond: Could you meet me at King’s shop?_

Jeremy was disappointed in his body for getting a boner at only the _thought_ of seeing Vagabond. It’d been about a week since the office building/blowjob and he really hadn’t talked that much with him, other than texting after he left to make sure Vagabond knew he could call him again if he needed to. And a few texts to ensure he was still safe. He’d sort of hoped he _would_ need him again. He liked having an excuse to see Vagabond.

_To Vagabond: Sure thing. What time?_

_Vagabond: 7pm if that’s alright._

_To Vagabond: That’s good for me._

_Vagabond: Good. Now be a good boy and send me a picture of your pretty cock. I bet it’s hard for me._

Jeremy blushed. Apparently Vagabond knew _exactly_ what he did to Jeremy. 

_Vagabond: I can’t wait to see how dark you blush when you see me tonight._

Jeremy covered his eyes. _Fucking hell._

~

_Ding, ding!_

“Hey, Rimmy,” King greeted as Jeremy entered the shop, “V’s with a customer. He told me to tell you to look around and see if there was anything you wanted.”

Jeremy blushed, covering his eyes. 

“I take it things are going well between you two?” King snorted.

Jeremy glared at his smug grin.

“I guess so,” he muttered, “I’d prefer you ask him though.”

“Well, I don’t have to ask,” King scoffed, “He won’t shut the fuck up about you.”

Jeremy blushed and brushed his hand through his hair.

“R-Really?” He mumbled.

“Yes, really,“ King grumbled, “It might be annoying if it wasn’t so damn adorable.”

Jeremy fizzled, having no idea what to say to that and instead glanced around. His face only got hotter when he remembered what products lined these shelves. 

“Hey, you know Gold, don’t you?” King questioned.

“The mechanic?” Jeremy guessed, turning back to him.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” King confirmed, “You think you could deliver a package to him for me? I’ll pay you.”

“Oh, sure, I can do that,” Jeremy agreed, “Don’t worry about payment, you certainly put up with me more than necessary.”

King handed over the small package he needed delivered and they shook hands. Jeremy tucked the box away as Vagabond came out from the back. He was talking to the customer as they exited.

“Unless you have an emergency,” he was telling them, “So we’ll see you in a few weeks?”

“Sounds good,” the customer answered, “See you guys then.”

They went around the counter and Vagabond noticed Jeremy, brightening up as he did. He came around the counter and hugged him before pulling back to grin down at him.

“Did you miss me?” He simpered.

“M-Maybe a little,” Jeremy mumbled.

“You’re so cute,” Vagabond cooed, “I’m sorry we can’t go on a full date, but I have something for you.”

_A gift?_ He took Jeremy’s hand and dragged him into the back room. Jeremy was more than happy to follow Vagabond into a known sex location. Vagabond guided him into the chair and Jeremy tried to focus on the thing he was holding out to him rather than his cock reminding him what happened in that chair. Jeremy frowned at the thing in Vagabond’s hands. 

“A hand?” He grunted, “You...made me a hand?”

It was incredible. Matched Jeremy’s skin tone perfectly and was exactly the right size.

“It’s a pretty special hand,” Vagabond explained, “You’ll see when I hook it in. Hopefully. If you are alright with accepting it that is.”

Jeremy hesitated. The false skin on that hand was insanely good. No one would be able to tell it wasn’t an organic hand. It was expensive no doubt. _He probably spent a lot of time and money on this._ Another thing Jeremy was going to owe him for. But Vagabond’s encouraging smile could convince Jeremy to do about anything. 

“Okay,” He agreed.

Vagabond grinned excitedly and had him prop his arm up to turn off and remove the hand he had. The shock that pulsed through his brain when the new one attached was worse than any other he’d felt before and he grunted, teeth clenching as Vagabond tried to quickly attach it.

“Alright?” He prompted before he turned it on.

“Yes, but that shock was crazy,” Jeremy grunted.

“It’s not hurting any more?” Vagabond pressed.

“No, it was over quickly,” Jeremy assured him.

Vagabond flipped the hand on. Jeremy got another zap, though it wasn’t as bad as the first and he wiggled his fingers. He jolted in surprise. He reached out and touched Vagabond’s leather jacket. He could feel the texture practically down to a molecular level. Vagabond held out his organic hand and Jeremy brushed his new fingers over his skin. 

It was hard to comprehend, but he was feeling things he shouldn’t be able to feel. Like skin cells. He could feel Vagabond needed to moisturize his hand more. Jeremy brought over his other hand to feel the difference and thought his brain was going to explode as he rubbed his thumbs over Vagabond’s palm. 

He untucked Vagabond’s shirt to push his hands up it, feeling up his torso. The left one felt skin and hair, the right one felt that too, but also what he assumed was hair follicles, dead skin cells, and the faint traces of Vagabond’s soap. It also, somehow, could tell it was bar soap not liquid. It also knew Vagabond’s body temperature which Jeremy thought was a bit higher than average, but not high enough to be of concern. 

“Who the fuck did you steal these parts from?!” Jeremy demanded as he pulled his hands away.

“No one,” Vagabond grumbled, “I created every part of that.”

_“You_ made this??” Jeremy demanded, “How did-?”

He paused, looking at the hand.

“Oh, I see,” he murmured, clenching and unclenching his fist, “You don’t belong here. Or well, you didn’t _start_ here. You were actually high class, weren’t you? You went to one of those fancy schools.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Vagabond snorted, “You like it?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome!” Jeremy exclaimed, “I feel like I can feel color and sound.”

“That’s not even the best part,” Vagabond laughed.

“There’s more?!” Jeremy shrieked.

“Imagine for a moment there’s some reason you needed my hand for something,” Vagabond instructed, “I’m incapacitated or something and you need my fingerprints.”

“Er, okay?” Jeremy grunted, “Why though?”

Vagabond frowned. Then he pulled out his phone and held it out to Jeremy.

“You need my thumbprint to get in my phone,” he tried again, “You can’t use my actual thumb. So you need to make _your_ thumb work on it.”

“Okay, but-?” Jeremy started.

He was interrupted by a zap from his hand, sending a spark up his arm. He looked down at it in confusion. His hand now looked identical to Vagabond’s. He lifted it to Vagabond’s phone and pressed his thumb against the button. His phone unlocked. 

“Whoa, what?!” He exclaimed, “It has like spy powers!”

“Something like that,” Vagabond laughed, “You just have to think what you need. It can change temperature, shape, or color and even has lubricant and the ability to turn invisible. The fingerprints only work if you’ve actually felt them before though. But you can do probably just about anything you can think of.”

Jeremy did _not_ get zapped when his hand returned to its proper shape and went wet as he glanced at Vagabond’s crotch. That was _not_ a thing that happened. 

“Stop that!” He hissed at his hand, wiping lubricant off onto his jeans, “Great. Just fantastic. Maybe I need an implant after all to get a filter for this thing.”

“Actually, I think you not having an implant is what makes it work,” Vagabond admitted, “Though truthfully it’s a prototype, I couldn’t tell you for absolute certainty, but since you’re the first person it’s worked with...”

Jeremy looked down at it and his other hand in his lap. The other hand looked like it might as well be garbage in comparison. It didn’t fit for Jeremy to have something so high class and incredible. 

“Why would you give it to me?” He mumbled.

“Two reasons,” Vagabond answered, “One, lack of implants was the thing that finally got it working properly. After meeting you, I realized I had just assumed it wouldn’t work with a completely organic brain without really considering it. But when I simulated it, it worked. Which meant to see if it would _actually_ work, I needed someone with robotic parts, but also without an implant.”

Jeremy looked up in surprise. _I...helped? Accidentally, but still..._

“The second reason is more personal,” Vagabond muttered, looking away, “I needed someone I could trust to some degree. This is...extremely illegal. A lot more than just unregistered parts. You can’t tell anyone the exact nature of it. I’ll take it back if you don’t want to be a part of it, but you can’t tell anyone about this. I just wanted to see if it worked.”

“You can pry it out of my cold, dead socket,” Jeremy snorted, “This is _mine_ now.”

Vagabond’s eyes jerked back to his and he grinned.

“You like it that much, really?” He questioned.

“Duh, this thing is amazing!” Jeremy exclaimed, “I gotta be careful not to play with it around others though, if it’s really that secret.”

“It is, I really need you to keep it completely secret,” Vagabond confirmed, “Also, I need to see you weekly to check in on it and download the data from it.”

“Data?” Jeremy grunted, “What data?”

“It records everything it does and everything it reads from your brain,” Vagabond explained, “Being a hand, it’s not going to tell me what you jerked off to, but it will tell me that you jerked off.”

Jeremy blushed, covering his eyes with his other hand.

“Great,” he grumbled, “Just what I wanted to hear.”

Vagabond laughed then pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“Anyway, I’ve gotta run,” he murmured, “I really wish we could spend some recreational time together, but I’m really busy.”

Jeremy gripped his jacket to kiss him more firmly before he got up to leave. They kissed again at the door before finally leaving King’s shop and going their separate ways. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gayyyyyyyy


	6. Chapter 6

_ If I could break the casing, this fight would be over. _

Jeremy’s hand zapped him as his fist slammed into the robot’s face, shattering its casing and sending it flying. He blinked owlishly in surprise as the robot flew a few feet and slammed into the floor. He glanced at his hand, trying not to look too obviously. It looked metal now. It zapped him again as it quickly turned back to how it was meant to be.

He glanced around at the cheering crowd. No one really seemed to have noticed. Good, this was definitely part of the special features he wasn’t suppose to show anyone. He shook his hand as he exited the ring, wincing a bit. The impact had still hurt his arm, the shockwave traveling up it, but the hand itself appeared completely uninjured. 

He hadn’t really considered using it as a weapon, which made him feel like an idiot. It seemed obvious now that it would be most useful as a weapon. He wondered if that had been Vagabond’s original intention. He gathered his things and his prize money. Speaking of Vagabond, he should be there to pick Jeremy up any minute now. Jeremy sat at the bar and ordered a drink while he waited.

“That was a hell of a fight,” an unfamiliar voice spoke as someone sat next to Jeremy.

The owner of the voice was a dark haired man with a short stubbly beard and glasses. He had a middle class look about him with a black button up and a navy blazer. He didn’t look like he belonged in an underground fight ring. He gave Jeremy a small smile that didn’t reach the gray-blue eyes watching him so critically. 

“Rimmy Tim, right?” He prompted.

“Unfortunately,” Jeremy answered, “And you are?”

“Depends who you ask,” The man snorted, “You can call me Church.”

“That’s a weird name,” Jeremy muttered.

“Big words from a man called Rimmy,” Church countered.

He reached in his blazer and Jeremy tried not to visibly tense. He pulled a business card and held it out. Jeremy took it and frowned down at it.

“Rooster Inc?” He read, “Like _the_ Rooster Inc? The multimillion-dollar tech company that basically owns the country?”

“That’s the one,” Church laughed.

Cold dread shivered up Jeremy’s spine. This wasn’t a chance meeting. Jeremy had been sought out. This was intentional. And if he had to guess why a tech company was after him...

“So what exactly do you want?” He questioned, “What’s your plan here? Got a monologue for me?”

“I’ll try to keep the mustache-twirling to a minimum,” Church snorted, “You happen to know a tech friend of mine, specializes in hands. Used to go by Grif. Now I hear he goes by King.”

Jeremy almost puffed out a relieved sigh. _Not Vagabond. But...why King?_

“What if I did know him?” Jeremy pressed.

“Well, he’s a little lost,” Church explained, “I need some help getting him back where he belongs. If you happen to know where he is, I’d be grateful if you told me. You would of course be rewarded for it.”

Jeremy laughed, shaking his head.

“Don’t spend much time in the mud, do you?” He guessed, “The only thing we low-class assholes hate more than each other, is you ivory tower fucks. No one’s going to help you down here, buddy.”

“I feel people can be persuaded with the right motivation,” Church countered, smirking, “The number on the back of the card is the price of your information.”

Jeremy didn’t look. 

“It’s not happening, buddy,” He insisted.

“We’ll see,” Church murmured.

“Rimmy?” Vagabond’s voice spoke up as he appeared at Jeremy’s side, “What’s g-?”

He stopped abruptly as he looked at Church. Church’s eyebrows raised.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” He spoke, a smirk widening on his face, “Speaking of kings...”

Vagabond stiffened, stepping closer to Jeremy.

“What are you doing here?” He spoke cold and quiet.

“Relax, Mad King, I’m here for someone else,” Church sneered.

“Don’t call me that,” Vagabond growled.

Jeremy looked up at him, worried and confused. 

“Well, Rimmy, I look forward to hearing from you,” Church grunted as he stood, “I’m sure we can work something out.”

He held out his hand and Jeremy shook it. Vagabond waited until he left the building to snatch the card from Jeremy and flip it over. He puffed out a sigh of relief and handed it back.

“Who’s he after?” He asked.

“King, he said,” Jeremy answered, “You gonna tell me what that whole thing was about?”

“No.”

“Do you know why he’s after King?” Jeremy questioned, frowning at the card, “I can’t imagine King in high society. Though I guess Rooster Inc. has places in mid-ground too.”

“I’m not sure,” Vagabond admitted, “We don’t talk a lot about our pasts or personal lives. Well, he talks about Wings a lot.”

Wings was the woman who worked on Jeremy’s leg usually. Before Vagabond anyway. Now Jeremy really only had Vagabond touching his parts.

“Are they actually together?” Jeremy wondered, “They always seemed like it.”

“No, I don’t think she wants to be in a relationship,” Vagabond dismissed.

“We probably shouldn’t be speculating,” Jeremy muttered, picking up his drink to finish it off, “But they’re definitely a good match, right?”

“Oh, yes,” Vagabond agreed, “And they definitely like each other. I’m not sure why she isn’t picking up on King’s advances.”

“Again, we shouldn’t speculate,” Jeremy murmured, “There could be a lot more that we don’t see.”

“That’s true enough,” Vagabond relented, “What we see is likely just the surface. People have a tendency to hide a lot of things from others. Like dandelions.”

Jeremy frowned up at him. He was scanning the room, not looking at Jeremy.

“Dandelions?” Jeremy prompted, “Like those old plants?”

“Yes, they’re weeds,” Vagabond confirmed, turning to look down at him, “The stem is usually not more than four inches, but the roots can reach up to fifteen feet in depth.”

“So, what we see of each other is only a tiny percentage of what there is?” Jeremy concluded.

“About 2% if we’re sticking with the analogy,” Vagabond snorted.

“So 4% of you,” Jeremy joked, glancing down at Vagabond’s crotch and back up.

“Closer to five, I’d say,” Vagabond muttered, glancing around again, “As much as I’m enjoying flirting with you, I think we should be off.”

“Why are you so nervous?” Jeremy questioned.

He slammed the rest of his drink and hopped off the barstool. 

“The man you talked to, he’s not a good one,” Vagabond explained.

Jeremy reached for his hand, expecting him to reach back, but he didn’t. Jeremy frowned as he followed Vagabond from the building. He almost seemed to be intentionally keeping his distance and his face was twisted into a pensive look. That Church guy had really unnerved him apparently. It was unnerving Jeremy too. The whole experience was fucking bizarre.

“Should I be worried?” Jeremy questioned as they got to Vagabond’s bike, “Because I am.”

Vagabond hesitated, tapping the handle on his bike.

“You shouldn’t _have_ to worry,” he finally spoke, sighing, “But it’s only fair I tell you, you could be a target for people like him looking for me. If he or anyone else suspicious asks you about me, you should pretend you don’t know me and tell me immediately, okay?”

He was giving Jeremy a very worried, intense look.

“Okay, I can do that,” Jeremy assured, giving him a thumbs up, “No problem.”

Vagabond relaxed, giving him a warm little smile.

“Thank you, Rimmy,” He murmured, looking away, “You’ve been...a real friend. And...I’m glad I met you.”

He was blushing, a fact that flipped a switch in Jeremy that turned his whole body scarlet. 

“Th-Thank you!” He sputtered, “I-I mean, I-I’m a-also glad!”

He fidgeted with his shirt, looking down at the ground. Vagabond took his face in his hands and kissed him firmly. Jeremy put his hands over Vagabond’s and their foreheads stayed pressed together a moment. 

“You get shier each new time I see you,” Vagabond teased.

“N-No! Sh-Shut up!” Jeremy huffed.

Vagabond laughed at him before kissing him again and finally stepping away.

“Alright, let’s go so I can see what you were up to with your hand,” He laughed.

“Joke’s on you, I jerked off with the left one,” Jeremy snorted.

Vagabond laughed again as they got on his bike. Jeremy smiled as he squeezed around him. He wasn’t tensed up any more. Jeremy had managed to relax him to some degree. Jeremy was glad. He thought Vagabond deserved to relax more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Background plot? Check. Possible baddies? Check. RvB references? Check. Adorable gay bbus? Double check. 😏


	7. Chapter 7

Vagabond was frowning at the device he’d hooked into Jeremy’s hand.

“Your fight, something unusual happened,” He muttered, raising an eyebrow as he looked up, “What was it?”

“I just thought I needed to break the robot’s casing,” Jeremy explained, “Then it went all metal-y and shattered the casing. Obliterated it’s brain parts too.”

“Metal-y,” Vagabond repeated.

Jeremy changed the hand into the metal form. Vagabond’s eyebrows went up.

“Huh...interesting,” he muttered, “I...didn’t mention you could do that.”

“I know, it was so cool!” Jeremy exclaimed, “I just thought it and the hand changed, like when you did the fingerprint thing!”

Vagabond removed the device and ran his fingers over the metal form. Jeremy blushed as his hand seemed to tingle under Vagabond’s touch. When did Vagabond’s mere touch start riling him up so badly? 

“This is...incredible,” Vagabond murmured, hands running all over Jeremy’s, “Only a week and you’re using it so fluidly.”

Jeremy was struggling to focus on his words. He could tell the temperature of Vagabond’s hands, slightly different with one being organic. He could feel the difference between the organic skin cells and the false skin. He could feel his fingerprints and the jarring lack of them brushing over his skin. 

“Rimmy?” Vagabond called, his hands moving away, “Are you alright?“

“F-Fine,” Jeremy mumbled, clenching his fist as it switched back to the normal form, “I’m still not used to how much I can feel.”

“Is it very different?” Vagabond prompted.

“Yes, incredibly so,” Jeremy answered, “Like I can feel atoms.”

“Hm, not sure it’s that far, but it should be pretty close,” Vagabond snorted.

He hooked the device back into the hand and they fell quiet for a bit. 

“Why did you cool it down on Thursday?” Vagabond prompted.

“I didn’t,” Jeremy answered, “I picked up a slushee and it did it itself.”

Vagabond looked up in surprise, eyebrows high.

“It reacted without your thoughts?” He pressed.

“I mean, _maybe_ I thought it was cold?” Jeremy offered, “But I don’t think I did. I just picked it up and the hand changed.”

Vagabond hummed thoughtfully, looking back at the little device. He kept petting the hand absently and Jeremy was bright red as he waited for him to finish. Once he was done, Jeremy fidgeted with his shirt while he turned, presumably to do something with the device. Jeremy cleared his throat.

“I-I was wondering...” he mumbled, trailing off nervously.

“If I’d like to have sex with you?” Vagabond guessed as he moved back around in front of him.

He smirked at Jeremy who covered his blushing face. 

“Y-Yes!” He squeaked.

“I would like that very much,” Vagabond laughed, running his hands up Jeremy’s thighs.

Then he hoisted Jeremy up by his ass. Jeremy wrapped around him tightly as he carried him up the stairs and toward the bedroom. He buried his burning face in Vagabond’s shoulder. 

“You’re so cute when you act all shy,” Vagabond teased.

“Quiet you!” Jeremy huffed.

“I can’t be quiet,” Vagabond insisted, “You’re so cute and I feel like I’m gonna come in my pants every time I see you.”

He dropped Jeremy on his bed and shrugged off his jacket.

“Take your pants off,” he ordered.

Jeremy fumbled to quickly obey, kicking his shoes then his jeans off over the edge of the bed. Suddenly Vagabond’s phone went off and he frowned as he pulled it out. Jeremy also frowned as he answered it. _Um, hello??_

“Vagabond,” Vagabond greeted, “Yes?”

Jeremy tugged at his belt and he raised an eyebrow down at him. But he didn’t stop him, so Jeremy undid his fly and pulled his cock out.

“What happened?” Vagabond muttered.

Jeremy stroked his long cock with the new hand, shivering. Vagabond had been right, it was closer to ten inches than eight, according to the information popping into Jeremy’s head from the hand. He was now also getting the girth and the temperature as well as the traces of sweat and lube. Vagabond had jerked off recently, likely at work, based on how long ago his hand was telling him the lube had been used. 

_Was it...over me?_ Jeremy wondered, blushing.

“Now?” Vagabond grunted, “I’m sort of in the middle of something.”

Jeremy snorted. He refocused on jerking him off and tried not to think about the tingles touching him was sending up his arm. Something about touching organic skin was almost inherently sexual now with how sensitive the hand was. At least touching _Vagabond’s_ organic skin was anyway. He puffed out a tiny moan as he flushed darkly. It felt so good. Heated skin against his. He rubbed his other hand over his own boner. 

“Shouldn’t take much longer,” Vagabond murmured, “I’ll be over in half an hour.”

Jeremy wasn’t paying much attention any more, now much too focused on his hands. It felt like Vagabond’s cock was rubbing over more sensitive skin like his inner thighs or even inside his ass. He was panting, breathing harder than Vagabond who was the one getting the handjob.

He rubbed his thumb through the precum swelling up at the tip of Vagabond’s cock and his hand informed him what it was made of. He leaned forward and closed his mouth around the head, pushing forward to coat his cock with spit. Vagabond groaned, hips twitching forward as he gripped Jeremy’s shoulders for support. 

“Oh, your mouth f-feels so good, baby,” he huffed, “S-So warm and wet.”

The hand started warming up as Jeremy leaned back, smearing his spit over Vagabond like lube. Vagabond muttered something about outside influence while Jeremy groaned at the change the spit was making for his hand. The information about what it was made of, the temperature, and how it was affecting Vagabond seemed to swirl together as Jeremy’s hand sent sparks of pleasure up his arm. It was like that sensitive skin he was thinking about was being licked. 

They came at the same time, a fact owed to his hands moving in perfect synchronization. He shivered as his hand was coated in Vagabond’s come. It informed him what it was made of and also the temperature. He frowned down at the sticky mess. It was telling him a lot more than that.

“Did you know you had a low sperm count?” He wondered.

“Wh-What?” Vagabond grunted breathlessly.

Jeremy held up his hand.

“Your sperm count, it’s low,” he explained, “Like really low. You‘d struggle to make babies.”

Vagabond blinked at him a moment before bursting into laughter, clutching his stomach. Jeremy blushed.

“Wh-Why’re you laughing at me?!” He huffed. 

“I’m fucking gay, didn’t you notice??” Vagabond snorted around laughter, “Why would I need to make babies??”

“I-I didn’t say you did!” Jeremy protested, “I-I just said you would struggle!”

“You said it so sincerely!” Vagabond howled, “You’d struggle to make babies! I’m gonna cry!”

“You’re so rude!” Jeremy grumbled, “I’m wiping your mess on your jeans!”

He did just that, then wiped his other hand off on Vagabond’s jeans too. Vagabond didn’t stop laughing as he changed and Jeremy got his own jeans back on. It was really hard to stay mad at him, he was so pretty when he laughed. _The bastard._ When he finally got a hold of himself, they walked out to his bike.

“Hey, I could use an extra pair of hands, actually,” he commented brightly, “If you don’t mind helping me out.”

“I’d love to help and I happen to have a pretty good pair of hands,” Jeremy agreed, grinning at him.

“You’re stroking my ego again, Rimmy,” Vagabond chuckled.

“Among other things,” Jeremy joked.

Vagabond laughed again and Jeremy decided he’d do about anything to see Vagabond laughing and smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I find handjobs sort of boring. But this one is sort of weird. Sooo...yay?


	8. Chapter 8

Vagabond was frowning again. Which didn’t bode well when he was looking into someone’s head panel. 

“Rimmy,” he muttered, holding something out to Jeremy.

It was a memory chip, Jeremy thought as he took it. A fried one, apparently. One corner was blackened. 

“How did it get through her casing?” Vagabond grunted.

“No idea,” the one who’d called Vagabond answered, “She got separated from us. We didn’t even know she’d been incapacitated until the end.”

“Incapacitated is...not the right word,” Vagabond murmured, “She’s not going to wake up.”

“Are...are you sure?” The caller asked quietly.

“Positive,” Vagabond confirmed, “I could try to replace her implant, but... something’s essentially welded it to her brain, whatever got through her casing. If I try to remove it, it will probably damage her brain worse and possibly kill her outright. And I’d need a replacement implant immediately. Not to mention I have no idea what I’m looking at. I’ve never seen this before.”

“Is there a chance, if you try it?” The caller pressed, “Is there any chance she’ll make it?”

Vagabond looked up from the head panel.

“Would you like a percentage?” He offered.

The caller hesitated, but nodded.

“.002%.”

The caller and Jeremy both winced. Jeremy looked down at her memory chip. _If he knew what it was, could the percentage be higher?_ Jeremy’s hand zapped him as his fist closed around the chip. Images flashed through his head. Memories. He could see his hand grab something as he suddenly seized up. His vision started to fade and he dropped to his knees then fell forward. 

He gasped and wobbled where he was standing.

“Rimmy? You okay?” Vagabond called up, “What happened?”

Jeremy crouched next to him and pushed her up slightly, reaching under her to retrieve the thing she’d grabbed. He held up a short, modified cattle prod.

“This is what hit her,” he muttered, “Well, not _this_ one, but it was this weapon.”

Vagabond took it and fiddled with it a moment.

“That percentage just went up,” he announced, “I know the problem. Still a risk, but if you can get a decent implant to temporarily replace hers in the next fifteen minutes, there’s a good chance she’ll survive.”

“Take mine,” the caller suggested, “I can go without it for a bit if it means she’ll live.”

“We can turn off your eye to be sure you won’t fry,” Vagabond suggested.

The caller knelt down and Vagabond quickly turned the eye off and removed their implant. Vagabond held out the implant and Jeremy took it to hold while he returned to the unconscious woman’s head panel. Vagabond passed him tools and took them back a few times as he worked and Jeremy was delighted to be of assistance. He was helping save someone. He didn’t get a lot of opportunities to do that. 

After the panel was closed, they flipped her onto her back. 

“It‘ll take a few minutes,” Vagabond explained, “Give her a bit of time to see if it worked.”

The caller hovered next to her, looking hesitant before finally grasping her hand. Her body spasmed, causing the three of them to jump in surprise.

“Maddie?” The caller murmured, “Can you hear me?”

The woman spasmed again. 

“Maddie?” The caller called out to her, “I’m here, baby, I’m here.”

They were squeezing her hand in both of theirs. Her hand squeezed back. 

“Maddie, wake up please, baby,” the caller cried softly, “Please, tell me you’re okay.”

“This is...too quick,” Vagabond muttered, “She shouldn’t be responding so quickly.”

“Keep talking to her,” Jeremy instructed, “It’s waking her up.”

“M-Maddie, I-I’m here, you’re gonna be okay,” the caller mumbled, around tears, “N-Not the worst we’ve been hit, right? We’ve been through so much, you can’t quit on me now. We can go get ice cream too, right after, I promise.”

“Actually-“ Vagabond started.

Jeremy gripped his arm, shaking his head. Vagabond frowned at him, but went silent. 

“You just gotta wake up, baby,” the caller continued, “We’ll do whatever you want. Just wake up, Maddie.”

They leaned over and kissed the woman’s lips. She jerked and her eyes opened. Jeremy sniffled. 

“What’s up, buttercup?” The woman rasped.

The caller fell over her, hugging her tightly.

“You’re okay!” They cried.

“I can’t see,” the woman announced.

“Wh-What?!” The caller shrieked.

“A side effect that might go away,” Vagabond spoke up, “If it persists after the new implant, then we’ll see what can be done.”

“Vagabond, you saved me,” the woman mumbled.

”It was more Rimmy,” Vagabond dismissed, “He found the key.”

“Who the fuck is Rimmy?” The woman grunted.

“The one crying his eyes out,” Vagabond explained, pointing at Jeremy.

“I-It was true love’s kiss!” Jeremy sobbed, “Like-Like Sleeping Beauty!”

“You’re so cute,” Vagabond cooed, kissing his cheek.

“Dude, he just kissed him,” the caller muttered.

“Vagabond _kissed_ someone?!” The woman demanded, “And I missed it?!”

“D-Don’t act so surprised!” Vagabond huffed.

He was blushing again. If Jeremy wasn’t so emotionally compromised, he might’ve tried to tease him for it. After getting the woman up and into a car, Vagabond sent them to King’s shop to finish up the repair, promising to meet them there. Before getting back on the bike however, he turned and seized Jeremy’s hand.

“How did you know?!” He demanded.

“When I was holding her chip, her memory ended up blasting in my head!” Jeremy answered excitedly, “Like my hand could read the chip!”

“That’s incredible!” Vagabond exclaimed, “You _can_ integrate with outside tech! You’re amazing!”

Jeremy blushed.

“I-It’s not me!” He protested, “It’s _your_ tech!”

Vagabond picked him up and spun him around.

“But you’re figuring it out on your own!” He laughed, “I didn’t even tell you all my theories and you’re testing them out! You’re incredible!”

“Sh-Shut up!” Jeremy huffed, “Put me down!”

Vagabond dropped him into his arms, squeezing him close then pulling back to grin at him. Jeremy wrapped his arms and legs around him and scowled at him.

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty,” he grumbled.

“Not as pretty as you,” Vagabond cooed.

He rubbed his nose against Jeremy’s. Jeremy’s blush darkened and he kissed Vagabond in an effort to hide how embarrassed he was. 

“Oh!” Vagabond exclaimed, leaning back, “Their implant was in her brain, it must’ve recognized their voice and touch!”

“No, it was true love’s kiss,” Jeremy argued.

“True love doesn’t exist,” Vagabond snorted.

Jeremy bumped his forehead against Vagabond’s.

“You don’t know that,” he insisted.

Vagabond kissed him firmly, holding him closely. Then he pulled away and smiled lightly.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he murmured.

Jeremy smiled warmly back at him.

“Don’t you know I’m always right?” He joked.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Vagabond laughed.

He let Jeremy back down, but swept him into another deep kiss before they got back on his bike. Jeremy’s heart was fluttering and a stupid smile stayed on his stupid face for hours afterward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy’s a crybaby pass it on.


	9. Chapter 9

“Hey, G, hows it going?” Jeremy greeted as he entered the garage.

“Could be better,” Gold grumbled from under the hood of a car, “What’s up, Rimmy?”

“Car’s being funny,” Jeremy answered, “There’s some rattle in it and it’s been slowing down less quickly.”

Gold pulled his head out immediately, eyes wide. 

“Who the hell is trying to kill you?!” He demanded.

“Uh, no one that I know of,” Jeremy mumbled, shrugging, “Why would you think that?”

“Someone’s sabotaged your brake system!” Gold answered, “Lucky for you, I put in anti-sabotage, that’s what the rattle’s about. How long has it been like that?”

“Uh, nearly a week now,” Jeremy grunted, “I’ve been too busy to come in.”

“You could’ve died!” Gold announced a bit frantically, “Text me from now on if anything funny happens!”

“Er, okay,” Jeremy muttered.

Gold had him drive his car into the garage and he sat in the waiting room. _When did I first notice it?_ The day after the first check-in with his hand. The day after meeting that Rooster Inc. asshole. Was he trying to use another way to “motivate” Jeremy into giving up King since he refused the money? Great, just what Jeremy needed. His phone beeped. _Better not be anything else going wrong, I swear._

_ Vagabond: Do you think we could meet now instead of later? I could use some help. I’ll pay completely for our date. _

Jeremy smiled, rolling his eyes.

_ To Vagabond: You don’t have to bribe me to help, you know. I’m at Gold’s shop. _

_ Vagabond: I’ll come pick you up in a few minutes, okay? _

_ To Vagabond: You got it. _

Jeremy put his phone away to go talk to Gold and nearly smacked into Mogar who was coming around the corner.

“Oh, hey, Rimmy,” Mogar greeted, “How’s it going?”

“Someone’s trying to kill me, apparently,” Jeremy offered brightly, “But I’m about to go on a sort of date, so it evens out.”

“Date with who?” Mogar grunted as they started toward where Gold was.

“Vagabond,” Jeremy answered.

“Wait, King’s new tech, Vagabond?!” Gold demanded from under Jeremy’s car.

“Yep, he’s coming to pick me up right now,” Jeremy confirmed.

Mogar was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“What the hell do you see in that guy?” He snorted, “Other than how pretty he is.”

“Er, what do you mean?” Jeremy muttered, frowning, “He’s a good guy. Very sweet and kind.” 

He recalled when he’d helped him at the office building.

“Uh, usually,” he amended, “When he’s not stressed out.”

Mogar was frowning, looking confused and Gold pulled out from under the car.

“Blimey, you’re serious!” He exclaimed, sitting up.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jeremy wondered wildly.

The shop door opened and they turned to see Vagabond entering. He looked around, brightening when he saw Jeremy and smiling as he made his way over. Jeremy smiled back, waving dumbly as Vagabond stopped in front of him. He hugged Jeremy and brushed his hair from his forehead.

“You look like you need a haircut,” he teased.

“It just looks long ‘cause it’s slightly wet,” Jeremy grumbled, “The dryer at the gym was out.”

“Again?” Vagabond prompted, frowning, “Didn’t you say that a few days ago?”

“Yeah, no one’s gotten around to it,” Jeremy muttered bitterly, “Towel drying is vastly inferior.”

“Well, it’ll dry on the bike,” Vagabond assured him, “You can go without your helmet for a few minutes. Are you ready?”

“I think so,” Jeremy answered, turning to Gold, “You can send my car home, right?”

Gold and Mogar were staring at them, looking baffled.

“Uh, sure thing, Rimmy,” Gold agreed.

“You two have fun on your sort of date,” Mogar snickered.

Vagabond put his arm around Jeremy to guide him from the shop.

“Sort of date?” He huffed, “Here I had plans for a full date. Nothing changed, we can still go. After we finish helping someone out.”

“Ooh, do we get to be paramedics again?!” Jeremy exclaimed, bouncing excitedly.

“Is that what we were before?” Vagabond laughed.

“Uh, duh!” Jeremy snorted as Vagabond opened the door, “We got to save someone’s life! Robo medics!”

“You’re so cute,” Vagabond cooed as they passed through the doorway, “Yes, we’re being robo medics again.”

“Yes!” Jeremy chirped, “I like saving people!”

Usually he was only hurting people.

“You’re a good man, Rimmy Tim,” Vagabond mused as he mounted his bike.

“So are you, Vagabond,” Jeremy returned, kissing him on the cheek before climbing on behind him.

“Sometimes you make me feel like that might be true,” Vagabond murmured, smiling over his shoulder at him.

“Good, ‘cause it _is_ true!” Jeremy announced firmly.

“You’re a good influence on me, that’s for sure,” Vagabond snorted, “Alright let’s go fix someone.”

Jeremy fastened the restraints and put his arms around Vagabond as he started the bike. _**I’m** a good influence on **you**? Don’t be silly._

~

After helping out someone who’d managed to crush both hands in a trash compactor, Vagabond took Jeremy to an upward transit station. Jeremy tugged nervously at his jacket sleeves as they dismounted. _We aren’t going into mid-ground, are we?_ He pulled off his helmet and Vagabond stowed it and his own before taking Jeremy’s hand.

Vagabond was _definitely_ taking them to mid-ground. It wasn’t exactly difficult to enter Mid Los Santos from Low Los Santos. Pretty much as long as you were unarmed with no illegal tech and had no outstanding warrants or prior convictions, you were free to go up. The real problem was usually when you made it there.

“Good evening, Abby,” Vagabond greeted the scanner tech, jarring Jeremy from his anxiety, “How are you doing?”

“Wonderful,” Abby replied, “Please step in.”

Jeremy’s heart clenched as Vagabond stepped into the scanner. _About that illegal tech..._

“Eye, throat, arm, brain,” the scanner toned.

_Throat? Vagabond has a throat mod?_

“Please step through,” Abby requested.

Vagabond stepped through to the other side. Jeremy frowned. _Isn’t his tech unregistered too?_

“Please step in,” Abby instructed.

Jeremy hesitated, glancing at Vagabond who nodded, smiling encouragingly. Jeremy stepped in.

“Arm, leg,” the scanner announced.

Jeremy opened his mouth, but Vagabond cleared his throat. _Right, the hand is a secret. Also my mods aren’t registered, how-?_

“Please step through,” Abby repeated.

Jeremy stepped through.

“Thank you, Abby,” Vagabond called as he took Jeremy’s hand to lead him to the elevator.

“No problem,” Abby assured him.  


_Ohhhh._

They stepped in the elevator and the doors closed.

“Destination?” A cool voice prompted.

“Rosemary Gardens,” Vagabond answered.

“Authorization code required.”

Vagabond tapped a code into the keypad by the door. 

“Authorization code accepted.”

The elevator began to rise.

“So you gonna tell me about any of what the fuck is going on?” Jeremy wondered.

“We’re going on a date to Rosemary Gardens,” Vagabond replied.

Jeremy gave him a flat, unamused look. The elevator shifted and began moving backwards. 

“There’s not much I can say here,” Vagabond amended, “I’ll tell you more when we get there.”

Jeremy frowned, but went quiet. They stopped and the door opened. 

“Arrived at destination: Rosemary Gardens.”

Vagabond lead him into a sort of lobby type room with chairs against the walls and a receptionist desk. He led Jeremy around the desk and through a door. They went through a short corridor and another door. Jeremy’s eyes went wide as they passed through. 

_Gardens._ He’d assumed they were going into a district called Rosemary Gardens. No, they were entering actual gardens. There were organics everywhere. _Plants, they’re called,_ he reminded himself. Green, mostly, but also yellows, blues, reds, purples. A whole rainbow of flowers. He stared in awe around him, stumbling along as Vagabond guided him along a stone path.

“So you’ve never been in a garden before?” Vagabond guessed.

Jeremy shook his head then got distracted by an insect flying by. He reached his hand toward it and it landed on him. Big, bright blue wings opened and closed a few times.

“What is it?” He wondered.

“It’s a butterfly,” Vagabond answered.

“Like the things you get in your stomach?” Jeremy grunted.

“They are where the saying comes from, yes,” Vagabond confirmed.

Jeremy lifted it to look closer and the butterfly fluttered off his hand to land on his nose.

“Oh!” He gasped, “Wh-What is it doing??”

“Checking to see if you’re a flower,” Vagabond laughed.

“I-I’m not a flower!” Jeremy huffed, “Please go away!”

“Wait, I want a picture,” Vagabond snickered, holding up his phone.

Jeremy gave him the unamused look again as his phone clicked. The butterfly took off, flying away as Jeremy sneezed.Jeremy rubbed his nose as he watched it go. Everything was so colorful and alive there. 

“You’re supposed to be tell me what’s going on,” he pointed out as Vagabond started guiding him again.

“Well, I helped Abby out, so now she helps me get in mid-ground,” Vagabond explained, “Since you liked the synthetic rose I gave you, I thought you might like to see a real one.”

Jeremy sneezed again.

“How’d you get the code?” He pressed, rubbing at his eyes.

“I helped out someone who works here,” Vagabond answered, “They gave me the employee code so we could visit after hours.”

“You help out a- _achoo!”_ Jeremy interrupted himself with another sneeze, “Is this normal with butter- _achoo!”_

“Oh dear,” Vagabond muttered, turning them back the way they came, “You have allergies.”

“Like a peanut a- _achoo!”_

“No, like a pollen allergy,” Vagabond murmured as he guided Jeremy through the corridor.

“What’s a pol- _achoo!”_

“Pollen is something plants have,” Vagabond explained, “A sort of powder that humans often have an allergy to.”

He guided Jeremy into a chair in the lobby and produced a package of tissues from his jacket. 

“You’ve really never seen flowering plants before?” Vagabond prompted as he at beside him.

Jeremy shook his head as he blew his nose.

“I’ve lived in the mud my whole life,” he admitted, “No flowers- _achoo!_ -d-down there.”

“I guess...I never really noticed,” Vagabond muttered, “Where I’m from, I always thought they were rare. But I suppose by comparison they’re very common there.”

Jeremy wanted to ask him where he was from, but knew Vagabond wasn’t comfortable sharing stuff about his past. 

“Sorry I ruined our date,” he mumbled, wiping at his nose and eyes.

“Don’t be silly,” Vagabond chided lightly, “I’m happy to be with you, regardless.”

He kissed Jeremy’s temple. Jeremy blushed.

“This is what you’re into?” He grumbled nasally, “Me sneezing a bunch?”

“I mean, I’d prefer you minus the sneezing,” Vagabond laughed, “But I’ll take what I can get.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. _What a dork._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy is a little puppy.


	10. Chapter 10

Vagabond led Jeremy back to the elevator once he was done sneezing.

“Destination?”

“Gray District,” Vagabond answered.

The elevator moved sideways then backwards and sideways again before it stopped. Jeremy was sweating as Vagabond led him from the transit terminal into the district apparently known as Gray. He put his bad hand in his jacket pocket as they passed someone giving them the side-eye. That was the problem with going up to mid-ground: people knew when you didn’t belong there. Though Jeremy wasn’t exactly a great source on mid-ground behavior. He had been only the one time, when he was very young. 

He was surprised Vagabond, of all people, wanted to go there. He seemed to be extremely paranoid. Surely having this many eyes on him would freak him out? He looked fine though. No more tense than usual anyway. Actually he almost looked _less_ tense. Well, Jeremy supposed he _did_ belong there. That place was more his scene than the mud, that was for sure.

“Here we are,” Vagabond announced, stopping in front of a door.

He opened the door and Jeremy glanced around as they passed through. It was a cafe, not really that fancy. Pretty ordinary, actually. He wondered why they had to come to mid-ground for it. It wasn’t like there weren’t decent cafes just like it in Low LS. Though maybe it was convenience because of the garden?

“Hello, two Rose Purée to go, please,” Vagabond requested at the counter. 

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. _What the fuck is a Rose Purée?? What the fuck is a purée?? Isn’t that like a smoothie?_ Two pink drinks were held out to them in clear plastic cups. Jeremy hesitated, embarrassed to show his bad hand, but unwilling to let go of Vagabond’s with the good one. The employee’s eyebrows raised as his obviously low-end hand closed around the cup. He tried to ignore it as Vagabond led him back outside.

He sniffed at the open top of the cup. Smelled like roses. He supposed he should’ve expected that. It tasted like what he imagined the smell of a rose would taste. It was good, but still, he was less than impressed. He glanced at Vagabond. 

“Why did you bring me here?” He muttered.

“You’ll see soon,” Vagabond assured him, grinning.

_Guess we’ll see soon._ Vagabond led him down a few streets, around some corners until he stopped in an alleyway. They disposed of their cups and Vagabond gestured him up a fire escape. He led him across the roof when they got to the top and they sat near the edge. 

Vagabond checked the time then produced a folded up umbrella and opened it. He pulled Jeremy close, holding the umbrella above them. Jeremy frowned. _It doesn’t rain in mid-ground, this place is a bubble._ It began raining. Jeremy looked up in surprise. 

“So I may or may not know someone in climate control,” Vagabond laughed.

Jeremy laughed too as they watched the mid-grounders scatter below them. When Jeremy looked over at him, Vagabond was smiling at him. 

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy this,” he mused.

“It’s always fun watching silver spoons have to deal with reality,” Jeremy snorted, “Well, in a non-dangerous way. I don’t want anyone to get hurt over it.”

“You know, for a fighter you’re a softie,” Vagabond teased.

“I guess so,” Jeremy muttered.

He sighed, looking down at his hands in his lap.

“I’m tired of only fighting,” he confessed, “I want to do good for once. Before you, I...didn’t think I could. Since losing my hand, I thought I was only capable of inflicting pain. How could someone with no organic hands possibly do any real good with them?”

He squeezed them into fists.

“But...you called me for help,” he mumbled, “No one calls me for help. And then it just kept happening. All the help I’ve given, it really means the world to me.”

He looked over at Vagabond again.

“You’ve given me more than you could possibly know,” he whispered, “Thank you.”

Vagabond cupped his jaw, running his thumb over Jeremy’s cheek. 

“I...am so glad I met you,” he murmured, “I’d given up completely on finding good people. I really believed there was no one good. But...when I called for help, you came. When I pushed you away, you stayed. Rimmy, I...”

His face twisted up. His hand moved from Jeremy’s face to his hand which he squeezed lightly.

“I need to tell you the truth,” he muttered, “Your hand, it’s not just a normal modification.”

“No shit,” Jeremy snorted.

Vagabond gave him an exasperated look.

“I meant more so than you realize,” he continued, “Have you ever heard of nano machines before?”

Jeremy frowned.

“No?” He offered, “At least, I don’t remember hearing it.”

“Nano machines are microscopic tech,” Vagabond explained, “So tiny you wouldn’t be able to see an individual one on its own. But together...”

He lifted Jeremy’s hand. 

“So it’s not just one piece, you mean,” Jeremy reasoned, “It’s many very small pieces.”

“Yes, exactly,” Vagabond confirmed, “It’s why you can feel things a normal mod would never be able to feel. It’s why it integrates with your brain and outside tech.”

“Oh, it must be why the zaps happen too!” Jeremy exclaimed, “Because the little machines are traveling to my brain. But...then they stay where they go? That’s why there’s no second zap when I do it again, the machines are already there.”

“Zaps?” Vagabond prompted, frowning, “Does it zap you often?”

“Only when I try a new feature,” Jeremy answered, shrugging, “I guess I assumed you knew. That it was normal for high-end tech.”

“Well, it _is_ technically normal for this tech,” Vagabond spoke carefully.

“So then others _have_ used it?” Jeremy questioned, “I thought you said all the simulations failed before the one without an implant?”

“They did,” Vagabond agreed, voice quiet, “But not not everyone has been against human testing of an unstable prototype.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Jeremy questioned.

“It means many people died at the hands of techs who chose to test nano machines on humans,” Vagabond muttered, “Instead of waiting for the simulations to be successful.”

Jeremy looked down at his hand where it was holding Vagabond’s. He squeezed lightly.

“That’s...heavy,” he mumbled, “I didn’t realize how bad this was. I’m sorry you’re dealing with all this. It must be hard.”

Vagabond puffed out a surprised breath.

“You really are a pure soul,” he snorted, “I just told you I withheld information on how dangerous this is and you’re worried about _me.”_

“I mean, you said it was pretty dangerous,” Jeremy pointed out, “Er, didn’t you? Now I can’t remember. But you said it was a prototype. Said it was risky. Offered me an out. I was aware from the beginning this wasn’t exactly safe.”

He shrugged.

“But I guess this explains why you’re paranoid,” he murmured, “If they’re willing to kill people in experiments, I can’t imagine what they’d do to a thief.”

“I’m not a thief,” Vagabond grumbled, “Not of nano tech anyway. It’s my own design. Well...I worked on it with others, but I did nearly completely design the first full prototype on my own.”

“What kind was the first one?” Jeremy asked.

“An eye, actually,” Vagabond answered, “If the simulations went well, I intended to be the first human to test it. But not only did the simulations not work on me, they didn’t work on any sort of person. If I wasn’t comfortable testing it myself, I wasn’t going to test it on anyone else. The others disagreed.”

Jeremy squeezed his hand again. He wasn’t sure what to say. There didn’t seem to be anything comforting for this. 

“I think it’s too dangerous if it _did_ work,” Vagabond admitted, “What you’ve shown me, it’s...incredible. It’s a deadly weapon in anyone else’s hands. You’re the only person I can trust to use it for good. I think you’re the only one I can trust with it at all.”

“That means a lot to me,” Jeremy muttered, “I know trust isn’t easy for you, so thank you for trusting me with this.”

He looked out over the mid-grounders as the rain began to stop. Vagabond leaned toward him and turned his head to kiss him firmly. Jeremy gripped his jacket, sagging a bit as Vagabond’s mouth moved on his and his arm looped around his waist. He pulled him closer, abandoning the umbrella to push his now free hand through Jeremy’s hair. The little drizzle flecked over them as it tapered off, but who could be bothered with that when there was a hot guy to make out with?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at these two. I’m totally not gonna ruin their lives, they’re so cute.


	11. Chapter 11

Jeremy watched the car tailing him, squeezing his steering wheel tightly. He could only assume it was Rooster Inc. after him for King still. It’d been a few days since he’d gotten his car fixed and he’d started noticing eyes on him everywhere he went. He was supposed to be meeting Vagabond to help out again, but he didn’t want to bring Roosters with him. 

“Phone, call Vagabond,” he ordered.

“Hello, darlin’,” Vagabond greeted after the second ring, “Having trouble finding the place?”

“No, but something’s come up,” Jeremy grunted, “I’m being tailed. I think it’s that Rooster Inc. guy, after King.”

Vagabond was quiet a moment.

“Are you sure?” He murmured.

“No, I have no real evidence,” Jeremy admitted, “Just that this shit started when I met the guy.”

“Has other stuff been happening?!” Vagabond demanded.

“Someone sabotaged my car,” Jeremy answered, “And they’ve been following me everywhere I go. It’s been a bit exhausting.”

“Didn’t I tell you to tell me about this??” Vagabond huffed.

“Did you?” Jeremy wondered.

“When you met Church!” Vagabond snapped, “I said tell me!”

“Uh, you said if someone came looking for _you,”_ Jeremy pointed out, “Didn’t you? No one’s said anything about you.”

Vagabond made a frustrated noise then sighed.

“Shake the tail and get over here,” he instructed, “We’ll talk about it then. I have to get to work.”

“Okay,” Jeremy agreed.

Vagabond hung up and Jeremy sighed. _Damnit. I fucked up and now he’s mad._

~

Vagabond was pacing by his bike when Jeremy finally showed up. He glanced up and halted, looking relieved as Jeremy parked next to him. He pulled Jeremy into a tight hug as soon as he stepped out. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he murmured, “I was so worried, I could barely focus.”

“Er, why?” Jeremy wondered, “I’m fine. They’re just trying to scare me into giving King up.”

“You don’t know that,” Vagabond argued, “You don’t even know if it’s Rooster Inc. after King.”

“I mean, I guess not,” Jeremy amended, “But who else would it be? These are definitely scare tactics. Who else would be trying to scare me?”

Vagabond stiffened. Jeremy frowned.

“What, what is it?” He grunted.

Vagabond pulled back, squeezing Jeremy’s biceps with a pained look.

“I think we should go lay low at my place for a bit,” he suggested, “Even if you’re right, this is still worrisome.”

“Okay, if that’s what you think,” Jeremy agreed, “I’m not exactly an expert on dodging people, honestly. Usually I hit them instead.”

Vagabond chuckled, his face clearing somewhat and Jeremy grinned. Maybe he wasn’t mad after all. He considered the office building incident yet again. No, he wasn’t mad, he was stressed out. _Worried_ about Jeremy. Jeremy’s heart fluttered.

~

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll find you because of me?” Jeremy muttered as they entered Vagabond’s house, “You seemed to have bad history with Church.”

“Nope, not worried,” Vagabond answered, “You’ll protect me if they try to hurt me.”

“I mean, you’re right,” Jeremy snorted as he followed him through the house, “But you seem to always be worrying.”

They stopped once they made it to the foot of Vagabond’s bed. Vagabond took Jeremy’s face in his hands.

“No one could really hurt us,” he murmured, “You look out for me, I look out for you. Partners in crime.”

Jeremy’s heart was fluttering again.

“Partners in crime,” he agreed, smiling warmly.

A sort of sad look flashed across Vagabond’s face, but he kissed Jeremy before Jeremy could really question it. He pushed Jeremy’s jacket off his shoulders and it slipped from Jeremy’s arms to the floor. His hands were slow, careful as he removed Jeremy’s clothes. Jeremy was a bit shaky as he tried to return the favor. 

The air felt different. _Warm._ Not electrified, not burning, just warm as they tumbled into bed, naked bodies moving against each other in slow rolling motions. Like waves in the ocean. 

Vagabond leaned over him to retrieve the lube and Jeremy found himself tugging on Vagabond’s hair tie. His long hair looked even longer as it fell over one shoulder. Jeremy ran his fingers through the silky strands. He could tell what conditioner Vagabond used and the traces of dust particles from the place they’d just been. He was so distracted by Vagabond’s hair, he jumped in surprise when Vagabond pressed a lubed finger to his asshole.

“Are you okay, darlin’?” Vagabond murmured, running his free hand over Jeremy’s hair.

“I-I’m fine,” Jeremy assured him, “I just got distracted by your hair. It’s very pretty.”

“You’re so cute,” Vagabond cooed.

Jeremy covered his blushing face with a noise of protest as Vagabond pressed his finger inside him. Vagabond chuckled lightly. 

“I’m so lucky,” he whispered, “You must be the most beautiful, adorable man in all levels of Los Santos and somehow you landed right in my lap. Thousands of laps you could’ve fallen into, but you fell in mine.”

“I-In fairness, th-there were other laps before you,” Jeremy huffed behind his hands.

“Mm, I suppose so,” Vagabond mused, “Still, I feel pretty lucky.”

Jeremy lowered his hands, struggling to make eye contact.

“Um, m-me too,” he mumbled sheepishly, “Like you said before, we’re both lucky. I’m really happy to be with you.”

Vagabond’s face went pink and his eyes jerked down as though he suddenly decided he needed to watch what he was doing.

“I...I’m happy too,” he muttered, “You mean a lot to me.”

Jeremy’s blush came back full force and his eyes welled up with tears. He covered his face again.

“M-Me too!” He cried, “Hurry now, I’m ready!”

“Bossy,” Vagabond teased as he pulled his hand away.

He leaned back over Jeremy, presumably to grab a condom, but Jeremy caught his wrist. He shook his head, face scarlet and Vagabond quickly changed course to rub lube on himself. His hands were shaking as he pushed up Jeremy’s legs and pressed up to his asshole. He went slowly, though there was little reason to, he sank in fully with no resistance. 

His face was drawn up, eyes closed and he puffed out a shaky breath. He rubbed Jeremy’s thigh absently as he leaned over him to grip the headboard. He opened his eyes and smiled down at Jeremy. Jeremy’s eyes welled up with tears and he wrapped his arms and legs around Vagabond. 

“Those happy tears, I hope?” Vagabond murmured in his ear.

“Y-Yes,” Jeremy squeaked, “P-Please move now!”

“As you so wish, so shall you receive,” Vagabond whispered, pressing a kiss to his ear.

Then he started moving, hips rocking back and forth as he gripped Jeremy’s thigh. 

“God, you feel good,” he groaned, sending shivers through Jeremy, “No more condoms ever. I need t-to feel your tight little hole squeezin’ my cock. You like me fuckin’ you raw, b-baby? Bet you love feelin’ my cock inside you, knowin’ I’m gonna f-fill you up.”

Jeremy moaned, back arching as he gripped at Vagabond’s shoulders. Vagabond echoed the moan, hips picking up speed naw, gaining purpose.

“Yeah, k-keep singin’, baby,” he huffed, “Always s-so vocal for me, my pretty l-little siren, singin’ for me. _Fuck.”_

He wrapped his hand around Jeremy’s cock and they didn’t last much longer as Jeremy tightened up. Vagabond groaned through his teeth as he came, hips snapping hard against Jeremy’s ass, Jeremy coming a few seconds later. He slumped a bit, burying his face in Jeremy’s neck as they caught their breath. 

“I...my name is Ryan,” he breathed against Jeremy’s skin.

Jeremy almost flinched in surprise, still a moment in wide-eyed shock.

“M-Mine is Jeremy!” He quickly returned when he realized he was just laying there for way too long, “Th-Thank you for trusting me y-your name!”

Ryan lifted up, giving Jeremy a watery smile.

“Oh, Jeremy,” he murmured, caressing his cheek, “I already trust you with my heart, what difference could a silly name make?”

Jeremy burst into tears, wailing pathetically and Ryan laughed.

“You’re so cute,” he cooed for the millionth time.

“Nooo!” Jeremy wailed into his hands.

Ryan just laughed again and kissed the back of his hands. Jeremy moved them and had possibly the wettest kiss of his life. But he thought it might be the sweetest too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s this? More feelings? More communication? I’m sure only good things will continue happening. :D


	12. Chapter 12

Jeremy woke up, shivering. He felt cold for some reason. He shifted in Ryan’s now familiar bed, searching for Ryan’s body heat. It was nowhere to be found. He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up. _Did Ryan have to leave for work?_ Jeremy got up, locating his underwear and shirt then peeing before he wandered out of Ryan’s bedroom. He found Ryan in the kitchen, pacing around anxiously.

He noticed Jeremy and stopped, immediately smiling warmly and coming over to hug him. He relaxed a bit as he held Jeremy closely. Jeremy hugged him back, worry squeezing his heart. 

“What’s going on?” He questioned into Ryan’s shoulder, “Why are you so anxious?”

“Is there a time I’m _not_ anxious?” Ryan snorted.

“Fair point,” Jeremy amended.

Ryan buried his face in Jeremy’s shoulder and puffed out a shaky breath, relaxing further as he held Jeremy even tighter.

“Uh, Ry? C-Can’t breathe,” Jeremy wheezed.

Ryan released him immediately.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled, “Anyway, want some pancakes?”

He guided Jeremy to the dining table and into a chair.

“Um, sure, I guess?” Jeremy agreed.

Ryan smiled at him and kissed him lightly before moving to the fridge.

“Don’t you have work?” Jeremy pointed out.

“Called in,” Ryan grunted, “So I’m free today.”

“Why’d you bother getting fully dressed then?” Jeremy wondered.

“I prefer being clothed,” Ryan muttered as he mixed the pancake batter.

Jeremy frowned at him. 

“Ry, seriously, what’s going on?” He pressed, “Is this about last night? Are we moving too fast or something?”

“Of course not,” Ryan dismissed not looking over at him, “I think we’ve moved at a nice pace.”

Jeremy sighed. 

“If I did something wrong, you have to tell me,” he mumbled, squeezing his bicep, “I’m...not good at figuring things out. I’m an idiot.”

Ryan walked back over to him and crouched down, taking his face in his hands.

“I know,” he snorted, “It’s kind of cute what a klutz you are.”

“You were supposed to tell me I’m not,” Jeremy huffed, blushing.

“Look, it’s not anything you did, okay?” Ryan assured him, “Something else is on my mind, but it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling better just seeing you.”

Jeremy smiled, pressing his hands over Ryan’s on his face. 

“That makes me happy to hear,” he murmured.

Ryan kissed him again, a bit more firmly this time and returned to the stove. Jeremy looked down at his hand, rubbing his fingers together. What was that a trace of on Ryan’s hand? Dust of some sort? _No, sand._

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Jeremy jumped as someone pounded on Ryan’s front door. 

“Vagabond!” Wings shouted through it, “I will bust your fucking door in, you traitorous bastard! Open the door right now!”

_Traitorous bastard?_ Jeremy frowned at Ryan who flipped the pancake in the pan as though Wings wasn’t threatening to break his door in. 

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

“Tell me where they took him!” Wings screamed through the door, “And maybe I let you live!”

“Ryan, what did you do?” Jeremy questioned carefully.

“Hm?” Ryan hummed, not looking over at him, “Me? Probably not.”

Jeremy gave him a very flat look he didn’t notice.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

“Vagabond!” Wings shrieked, “I know you’re in there!”

“Ryan, you gave up King, didn’t you?” Jeremy asked quietly.

Ryan’s eyes closed and his head dropped.

“Yes, I did,” he admitted.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

“Vagabond, please!” Wings cried, “Just tell me where he is!”

Ryan’s face crumpled and Jeremy stood up and went to the door. Wings’ bloodshot eyes looked Jeremy up and down before she tried to shove past him into Ryan’s house. Jeremy looped an arm around her. 

“Stop!” He hissed, “You can’t blame him! He did it for me! He was trying to protect me!”

“I don’t give a fuck!” Wings screeched, still trying to push past him, “They’re going to torture him to death!”

“You would’ve given him or me up for King too!” Jeremy argued, “You wouldn’t have blinked at throwing us to the wolves over him!”

“Yeah, well, you’re both fucking assholes!” She snapped, “Let go of me, you midget fuck!”

He lifted her up and tossed her on her ass outside. 

“You’re having a time-out until you can get your shit together,” he growled, “When you’re done throwing your tantrum, we’ll work _together_ to save King.”

He slammed the door shut. He looked over at Ryan who was still making pancakes. He rolled his eyes. _Idiot._

_ Ding, dong! _

Jeremy opened the door to Wings looking properly scolded and he let her in. A little while later they were all sitting at the table, Jeremy with a plate of pancakes. 

“I don’t know where they took him,” Ryan finally spoke up in the awkward silence, “I assume it’s somewhere in mid-ground.”

“Great,” Wings grumbled, “Could be anywhere.”

“Did you shake Church’s hand?” Jeremy asked around pancake.

Ryan frowned at him.

“No, but he did grab my hand as I started to leave,” He admitted, “Why?”

“You have traces of sand on your hand,” Jeremy explained, “So unless you were around sand, Church could’ve passed it to you.”

“So someplace in mid-ground with sand?” Wings reasoned, “I don’t know mid-ground well enough.”

“One sec,” Ryan muttered, standing.

He went toward the basement door and Wings squinted at Jeremy.

“Traces of sand, how’d you know that?” She questioned.

“I have a pretty good hand,” Jeremy murmured, wiggling his fingers not pinching the fork, “Didn’t you notice how good it is?”

“Must be pretty damn good,” Wings snorted, obviously still suspicious.

Ryan arrived with a map before she could continue interrogating him though. He spread the mid-ground map out on the table, picking up Jeremy’s plate to use it as a paperweight.

“There’s obviously no beaches in mid-ground,” He murmured, “But there are zen gardens in Green district.”

He pointed.

“Several playgrounds in Pink,” he continued, pointing again, “And the Parker Estate in Red.”

He tapped the map.

“Parker’s connected to Rooster Inc.,” he added, “And with the facility, it’s the most likely place.”

“Facility doesn’t sound good,” Jeremy spoke up.

“It’s not,” Ryan confirmed quietly.

He didn’t elaborate and Jeremy wasn’t sure he wanted him to. 

“Then that’s where I’m going,” Wings announced, standing abruptly.

“Good luck with getting torture-murdered,” Jeremy sneered, “I’m sure King will be so grateful when you end up right next to him.”

Wings scowled at him, but sat back down, crossing her arms. 

“We need a plan,” Jeremy pointed out, sitting up straighter, “What do you know about the property?”

He looked at Ryan.

“You’re not serious, are you?” Ryan grunted, “No way in hell are the three of us getting into the property, let alone the facility and back out again.”

“Humor me,” Jeremy suggested, “If you had infinite resources and manpower, how would you do it?”

Ryan looked at the map, brow furrowing as he considered it.

“An emergency exit,” he finally answered, tapping his fingers on the table, “There’s underground emergency exits on the chance that the main entrances are blocked for whatever reason. If we could get in them without tripping the alarm, the security on the exit tunnels are much more lax. With a distraction, we could slip into the compound through the emergency hatches. From there we’d track down King in disguise and trigger a real emergency so we could slip back out again in the chaos.”

“Alright, then what do we need to do that plan?” Jeremy prompted.

“An electrician,” Ryan answered, “At least one, well-versed in sabotaging electrical systems to get the emergency exits unsealed. A decent sized group to work as distraction. Three people in disguise, one to cause the real emergency probably with some form of mechanic expertise, two to get to King. The ones on King need to be able to fight and heal him if necessary. Possibly a tech in case they’ve toyed with his mods. Just someone who can get him on his feet if he’s badly injured. And a getaway driver.”

“Well, we happen to know a shady electrician,” Jeremy snorted, “Obviously the two of us could get King up and out. I think we’ve got a mechanic who could cause an emergency too. He’s basically a walking emergency anyway. Wings, I think, is a decent driver?”

He looked at her and she nodded confirmation.

“That leaves the distraction,” he concluded, “But I think between the three of us we can call in enough favors.”

Ryan hummed in annoyance.

“This is too risky,” he insisted, “There’s a million things that could go wrong. I could also be wrong about a lot of this. I don’t even know where the exits are or how the facility is laid out.”

“So we need someone to get inside first,” Jeremy reasoned, “Someone needs to get in to scope the place out. Someone who could possibly know the people involved.”

Ryan crossed his arms.

“You mean me,” he guessed, “You think I should use my connection to Church to get inside.”

“Uh, no, I didn’t,” Jeremy dismissed, “I think it’s better you stay as far from Church as possible and also not let anyone there see you. Church would fuck you over if he had the chance. No, I meant me. I think if I pretend to be oblivious, I might be able to worm my way in with Church. I could say I want to turn King in after all and some how finagle my way into the facility. We can work it out, possibly. _Maybe.”_

“No,” Ryan disagreed, “If they think you could be an advantage somehow, they won’t let you go.”

“So I better make myself useless, I guess,” Jeremy snorted, “Meantime, Wings, you go talk to Gold and Mogar and see if they’re up for it. I’m sure they will be, King is their friend too.”

Wings nodded and Ryan walked her to the door. He came back and sat next to Jeremy.

“You’re not going to back down from this, are you?” He muttered, sighing.

“Nope,” Jeremy answered cheerfully, “Shoulda thought of that before you wet behind my back and turned in the guy I was protecting.”

Ryan looked down at his hands.

“They were trying to scare me into giving him up by threatening you,” he murmured, “It obviously worked. Especially after they sent me a dozen photos of us together.”

Jeremy squeezed his hand and he looked up, face twisted.

“I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t-!” He exclaimed, choking, “Wh-What if they hurt you?”

Jeremy smiled at him, shaking his head. _Oh, Ryan._

“I’m not mad,” he assured him, “I would’ve done the same if the situation was reversed. But from now on, let’s both tell each other the important stuff, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Ryan mumbled.

Jeremy pulled him into a kiss and then a tight hug.

“We’re partners in crime,” he murmured, “We can do anything as long as we’re together.”

Ryan hugged him back, tightly enough to make him lose his breath again, burying his face in Jeremy’s shoulder. He held him like he never wanted to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In an older draft, Ryan was like “you’re not mad??” And Jeremy sarcastically said “sorry I’m not mad you like me more than your boss”. 😂


	13. Chapter 13

Jeremy tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Church. _He’s late._ Finally the car pulled into the otherwise empty parking lot and parked across from him where he was leaning against his trunk. Church stepped out of the car.

“Rimmy, long time no see,” he greeted, “I hope you’re well?”

“As well as I can be,” Jeremy snorted, “Someone’s been following me around.”

“Ah, well, it’s business, you know,” Church answered lightly, “Anyway, I hear you’ve got information for me.”

“I might,” Jeremy muttered, “Something better than King.”

Church’s lips pulled in a smirk.

“Might this have something to do with your boyfriend?” He guessed.

“Not my boyfriend,” Jeremy immediately scoffed, “A rich guy I manipulate with sex and puppy dog eyes. But yes, it’s about Vagabond. I happen to have some information on a very interesting prototype he’s developing.”

Church’s smirk turned into a wild sort of grin. _Bingo._

~

Jeremy finished drawing the map of the facility and pushed it toward Ryan. Ryan’s eyebrows raised.

“You got a lot,” he muttered.

“They were _very_ willing to show around someone that would give your secrets,” Jeremy snorted, “And they were quite excited about the prototype, even though it wasn’t what they thought it was.“

“I’m not happy about that,” Ryan grumbled, crossing his arms, “I worked on that for months!”

“You should’ve seen their faces when I opened the case!” Jeremy recalled, grinning, “Obviously they weren’t expecting a dick. It was soo funny.”

“So glad you’re amused,” Ryan huffed.

“But after they got over their shock, they were almost _too_ excited,” Jeremy added, “And insisted on me coming back if I found more like it. It was weird.”

“Sex-related tech is highly sought after,” Ryan muttered bitterly, “It’s highest paying after military tech.”

“I just like picturing you working on a dick,” Jeremy laughed, “It’s highly amusing.”

Ryan gave him a very flat, very unamused look.

“Anyway, let’s get over to the shop and meet with the others,” he grumbled, tucking away the map.

“Aye, aye, Captain Vagabond, sir!” Jeremy barked, snapping off a salute.

Ryan was still unamused, though his look softened when Jeremy grinned at him. 

~

“Once security arrives, you’ll scatter,” Ryan instructed, “Leaving out the maintenance doors in the terminals.”

He pointed them out on the map.

“You’ll go in pairs,” he added, “To avoid giving them any one group to chase. Once there, quickly change and disappear into the other districts. You’ll each pick a random terminal and station to exit out of, do not choose before you go. If you don’t know where you’re going, neither will they. Questions?”

No one spoke up.

“Good, take the backpacks,” he instructed, nodding to where Jeremy, Wings, Gold, and Mogar were holding up packs with different colored tags on them, “Your color is your exit district. Inside is everything you need. Please arrive on time. If you’re late, you risk the lives of everyone involved.”

The group retrieved the packs as they started filing out. Matt and Trevor each took a blue pack from Jeremy. They high-fived each other and Jeremy rolled his eyes at them. Fiona and Alfredo each took a pink pack from him and also high-fived. Jeremy covered his eyes. _My friends, all the same._

“See you guys later,” he muttered, waving as they left.

After the distraction team was gone, Ryan went over the plan with the rest of them. Then Mogar and Gold left too. Wings sat down, twisting her hands anxiously.

“It’s only been what, 48 hours?” She murmured.

“Give or take a few,” Ryan confirmed.

“And it’ll be around 72 when we get him out,” she continued.

“Just about,” Ryan agreed.

“How much damage can they do in three days?” She whispered.

Ryan hesitated, glancing at Jeremy. Jeremy nodded. _Better to hear the worst possibilities, than be surprised._

“Depending on what they want from him,” Ryan spoke carefully, “They may have tampered with his tech or his organics enough to have seriously hurt him. He could be crippled to the point of no return. As in even tech won’t fix the problem.”

Wings was quiet a long moment.

“If that’s the case,” she finally spoke, voice cold and quiet, “Then you had better find a way to help him. Regardless of _why_ you did it, _you_ still gave him up. What happens to him in there is your fault.”

“It’s not,” Ryan dismissed, “But if it makes you feel better, you may blame me.”

Wings stood abruptly and decked him. Jeremy hurriedly moved to his side, blocking her from hitting him again.

_“You_ turned him in, Vagabond,” she growled, _“You_ did this!”

“No, he didn’t!” Jeremy snapped, “Will you get your head out of your ass?! Rooster Inc. did this, not him! They’re the ones that threatened me! You’re damn lucky he’s jeopardizing his deal with them to save King, because you know you would never put King’s life on the line if Vagabond was in trouble.”

Wings scowled at him before turning to storm out of the room.

“Close the shop, if I can trust you to do that much,” she sneered over her shoulder before slamming the door closed.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. _We’re all supposed to be adults around here, aren’t we?_ He turned to Ryan who was looking over the map, apparently unperturbed. Jeremy shook his head as he leaned over to check where she’d socked him in the eye. He reached out, cooling his hand to use as an ice pack, but Ryan grabbed his wrist, instinctively defensive apparently. He winced and let go immediately.

“S-Sorry, I’m tense,” he muttered tiredly.

“‘S okay,” Jeremy assured him, “It is a bit weird to just touch someone’s eye. I thought you could use an ice pack.”

He held up his hand and wiggled his fingers, smiling encouragingly. Ryan’s face relaxed a bit and he pulled Jeremy onto his lap. Jeremy covered his eye with his cooled hand and Ryan’s other eye, the robotic one, looked over his face. 

“We can still back down,” he murmured, “We don’t have to do this. You’re in danger if we do this.”

“‘Course I am, that’s how I like it,” Jeremy assured him, grinning.

Ryan’s face looked so sad.

“Ry, what’s going on?” Jeremy whispered, almost afraid he’d spook Ryan if he spoke too loud, “Why are you upset? Is it just this stuff with King? Because it seems like there’s something else.”

Ryan looked at him a moment, searching again, but Jeremy didn’t know what for this time. 

“I think...Church may have told the people after me where to find me,” he admitted, “Even if he didn’t, once he finds King missing, he no doubt will. I have to leave, completely out of Los Santos, because they are much more effective than Church’s department of Rooster Inc.”

Jeremy felt like his swelling heart popped, deflating in his chest. 

“Oh...I see,” he mumbled, “So...you’ll leave immediately after we get King then?” 

“Honestly, I was going to leave as soon as I turned him over,” Ryan confessed, “But I wanted to make you breakfast before I left. So I could tell you I was leaving. I didn’t want you to think I was completely abandoning you or that it was your fault or anything.”

“Okay, thank you,” Jeremy muttered, “I’m very grateful for that. Does that mean you have to take my cool hand too?”

“It certainly is cool,” Ryan joked.

Jeremy gave him a dry look.

“But yes, unfortunately,” Ryan confirmed, “I’ll take it back and leave you with a good one. Obviously not as good though.”

“Well, it was awesome while it lasted,” Jeremy sighed, shrugging, “I’m glad I got to help with it.”

“You are such a sweet man,” Ryan chuckled, “A regular Good Samaritan.”

“Hell yeah,” Jeremy agreed enthusiastically, “I’m like a good guy now! Like in all those old cowboy movies! I should wear a white hat!”

Ryan laughed, wrapping his arms around Jeremy to pull him closer.

“Well, cowboy, you up for one last ride?” He teased, grinning.

“You have a one-track mind, Mr. Vagabond,” Jeremy muttered dryly, even though he was blushing, “But obviously, yes. After we get back to your place.”

He finally moved his hand and Ryan pulled him into a sweet, gentle kiss. Jeremy wanted to curse the universe. Why’d it have to pull Ryan away just as he was falling in love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk even what to say. 🤷


	14. Chapter 14

Jeremy felt tingling in his hand and Ryan held it, guiding him into his bedroom. _One last ride, he said. I don’t want one last one. I want to fuck him forever. I just want to **be** with him forever, I think._ Ryan kissed him deeply when they reached his room, backing him toward the bed as they gently dropped each other’s clothes. They tumbled onto it and Ryan immediately went for the nightstand to grab lube.

He trailed kisses and little bites down Jeremy’s throat then his chest and his belly. Jeremy was leaking by the time Ryan made it where he was going. He licked a wide stripe up the underside of Jeremy’s cock as he pushed his thighs up. 

Jeremy lifted his legs out of the way, holding them up behind his knees as Ryan opened the lube. He warned it between his fingers as he licked and kissed Jeremy’s cock, covering it in spit without actually putting it in his mouth. Jeremy whined in annoyance, jerking his hips up, rubbing his cock over Ryan’s lips.

“Brat,” Ryan laughed, rubbing his lubed fingertips over Jeremy’s asshole, “Ask nicely.”

“P-Please, put m-my cock in y-your mouth,” Jeremy huffed.

“Good boy,” Ryan purred.

He closed his mouth around Jeremy as his finger pressed inside him. Jeremy moaned, shuddering and he struggled to keep his body still and hands off Ryan’s head. Ryan sucked lightly, sliding down as he pushed his finger deeper inside him. Jeremy let go of his legs in favor of gripping the sheets tightly as Ryan’s finger moved, rubbing against his prostate, finding it easily. Once his finger was pressed against it, he fucked it in and out of Jeremy quickly. 

Jeremy groaned, feeling like he was on fire as the sensitive skin was rubbed excessively. Ryan’s mouth slid further down and he choked. Jeremy’s body tightened up and his thighs squeezed against Ryan’s head as he cried out. Jeremy’s head was spinning as Ryan pressed a second finger in him and started moving his mouth on Jeremy’s dick. It didn’t take a long time, which Jeremy was grateful for since he was getting so close to coming without Ryan’s cock in him. 

“R-Ry, Ry!” He huffed frantically.

Ryan pulled up and quickly got his hand out and covered in more lube. 

“Y-You still wanna ride me?” He muttered, rubbing the lube on himself, “Or should I t-take you like this?”

“I-I want to,” Jeremy mumbled, red-faced.

“So cute!” Ryan exclaimed, leaning down to pepper him with kisses.

“Nooo!” Jeremy whined.

He shoved him, twisting so Ryan was below him. He shuffled back and Ryan held his cock while Jeremy sank down on it. His free hand gripped Jeremy’s hip tightly and he groaned. 

“Goddamn, darlin’, every time is like the first,” he panted, “So good. So hot and tight.”

Jeremy shuddered and moaned softly as he pressed completely against Ryan. He paused a moment, catching his breath. He gripped at Ryan’s hand on his hip for support or just to hold his hand, maybe.

“Come on, bounce on it, cowboy,” Ryan coaxed, jerking his hips up.

Jeremy‘s flush darkened and he covered his face.

“Sh-Shut up, you’re embarrassing me!” He whined.

“You’re so cute when you’re red,” Ryan cooed.

“Nooo!” Jeremy wailed.

“Come on, baby, don’t get shy now,” Ryan laughed, “You’re already up on the horse. No backing down now.”

Jeremy huffed in a few breaths as he tried to relax. Why did this feel so different than all the other times? _Because I’m on top. I’m controlling the pace._ Ryan bounced him again.

“Come on, cowboy,” he grumbled impatiently, “I was promised a ride.”

Jeremy whined in annoyance at him before gripping at Ryan’s hands where they were on his hips for support and lifting and lowering carefully. He’d done it before, but still it felt so different with Ryan. It _always_ felt different with Ryan. He moved, quickly building up pace with his eyes tightly closed. He could practically feel Ryan’s robotic one looking all over his body. But it felt like appraisal, consideration, even care, not judgement. Ryan had a way of making Jeremy feel big and little at the same time. Like he was the only person in the world and he was memorizing every detail of his imperfect body.

“God, you’re so beautiful,” Ryan breathed, “I could never deserve such a sweet, beautiful man.”

Jeremy opened his eyes and tears dripped from them. 

“You’ve done so much for me,” he whispered, “How could you say you don’t deserve me?”

Ryan choked, tears filling his eyes. He quickly squeezed them closed, though two wet trails dripped down his temples. _Oh, Ryan._ Ryan’s hands started moving Jeremy, fucking him down on his cock and Jeremy smiled. _I’m so glad I got to meet you, even though it was only a short time._

He let go of one of Ryan’s hands to grip his own cock, moaning as he rubbed himself. He was panting as he tried his best to move in time with Ryan. He came first, crying out and tightening as he splattered over Ryan’s torso. Ryan flipped him, gripping both of his hands tightly, pressing them into the bed as he fucked into him quick and desperate. He groaned out Jeremy’s name as he came, pressing hard against him and slumping over him. 

He was shaking, his hands squeezing Jeremy’s so tightly it hurt. He pressed his face into Jeremy’s neck which was quickly wetted with his tears. Jeremy choked on his own tears, wrapping his legs around Ryan’s waist tightly and squeezing his hands back.

“I don’t want to go!” Ryan cried, “I don’t want to leave you!”

“I-I don’t want you t-to leave either,” Jeremy sobbed.

“I-I would t-take you but-!” Ryan choked.

“I know!” Jeremy wailed.

They were both safer separate. Jeremy would be a burden on Ryan, since he was shit at hiding/running and easy to spot. And of course Ryan would always be putting Jeremy in danger. Their possibility of survival was higher if they were separate. It was just math at that point. Which Jeremy sucked at, but Ryan seemed to be good at. The good news was that if they lived, there was the possibility they would get to see each other again. 

Ryan rolled off Jeremy, but pulled him closely against him, retaking his hand and pressing his face into Jeremy’s hair. He rubbed his free hand over Jeremy’s shoulder as he cried quietly. Jeremy wished his crying was quiet instead bawling like a child throwing a tantrum into Ryan’s chest. Eventually the jizz spurred them into taking a shower together. Ryan bent over to have Jeremy wash his hair at Jeremy’s request.

“Jeremy...” Ryan mumbled as Jeremy scrubbed sweat off his scalp, “If I...ever get out of trouble...I’ll come back.”

Jeremy smiled. 

“And if you need me too, I’ll be around,” he assured him, “You can always count on me.”

“I-M-Me too!” Ryan quickly added, “I’ll make sure you have my emergency number. J-Just in case you need help.”

Jeremy took his hands away and they switched spots. Jeremy watched Ryan’s long hair fan out over one shoulder as he rinsed the shampoo out. Honestly, he was too damn pretty. Maybe his whole body was synthetic, the beautiful bastard. Ryan wiped water from his eyes and his lightly-colored lashes fluttered as he opened them. He went pink as he noticed Jeremy staring. 

“Wh-What?” He mumbled, touching his hair self-consciously, “D-Does it look bad wet?”

“No, you’re fucking beautiful,” Jeremy grumbled, “Wash my hair, Adonis.”

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, _not_ pouting.

“You’re so cuteeee!” Ryan cried.

He grabbed him and peppered him with kisses again. Jeremy whined in annoyance. _Bastard._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is awesome! :D


	15. Chapter 15

The first hitch in Ryan’s plan to rescue King was the security door to the “Live Testing” Wing of the facility. Jeremy was honestly surprisedit went so well until that point. They’d slipped in the security exits no problem, but the security door they now faced needed a certain level of security access. According to Ryan, an alarm would trip if they tried to tamper with it and he needed at least thirty minutes to get around the alarm trigger.

“So...what now?” Jeremy muttered under his breath, “We can’t loiter here-“

His hand suddenly changed. He looked down in surprise. He had Church’s hand now. _Of course._ Church would be _plenty_ high enough to get them in. He put his hand on the scanner and held his breath. Ryan was practically vibrating next to him, obviously anxious about it not working and bringing security down on them.

_Beep. Click._

The scanner flashed a green “accepted” sign at them and the door opened. They sighed with relief as they passed through the door. Now this was the hard part: finding King. Jeremy hadn’t been able to go in the live testing wing. Obviously because that’s where they were keeping their human lab rats. So he had no idea where they were going or how to get there.

Jeremy’s watch buzzed and he lifted it to see Gold’s message stating he was in position. _Alright, we need to move quickly. He can only loiter so long before someone gets suspicious._ They walked quickly through the wing, passing several lab doors with windows in them. They didn’t see anyone but techs and scientists, so they kept moving. After walking down a long, unproductive hallway, they found themselves at a right turn. They turned down what Jeremy would later refer to as the Hallway of Horrors. 

The large iron doors set in the walls were windowed as well and they had little drawer doors on them. Jeremy guessed those were for food and that this was the place they were looking for. The first door on the right was the first one they peeked through. Jeremy resisted the strong urge to cover his mouth in utter horror at the occupant of the room.

They were sitting cross-legged on the floor, long blonde hair covering their face which was pointed down where their finger was tracing invisible patterns on the concrete. They seemed to be more robot than person, but Jeremy could see their organic skin was stretched over some of their robotic parts. It was nauseating to see their skin bulging unnaturally over their robotics like that. He couldn’t imagine that they weren’t in constant pain. 

As it turned out, they were the least grotesque of the poor test subjects in that hallway. Jeremy had to quit looking halfway through, relying on Ryan to find King. Unfortunately, King wasn’t in the hallway. Fortunately, he turned down the hallway just as they’d halted to discuss what to do next. Unfortunately, he was with two employees and not looking great. Jeremy fumbled with his watch to send the message to Gold as the employees came toward them cautiously.

“What’re you-?” One of them started.

An alarm screaming to life interrupted them as the hallway went red. Instead of the cell doors unlocking, like they’d assumed they would in an emergency, the locks went red, proclaiming all access was restricted until the emergency was over. Some of the prisoners came to their windows, mouths moving as they asked what was going on. The cells were sound-proof too it seemed.

“The hell is happening??” One of the employees wondered.

“Dunno, let’s get to the nearest exit,” the other grunted.

“Do we leave him?” The first one asked, gesturing at King.

King slammed his cuffed fists into the employee before they could answer and Jeremy decked the other before they could go for King. He shoved King behind him, toward Ryan as the two employees regained footing. Ryan could make sure King was stable while Jeremy took care of the employees. He slammed his left boot into the left one’s stomach and his right fist into the right one’s face. _Again._

The left grabbed his ankle and he leapt off his right foot, sending it into their nose with a crack. He kept his momentum going as they let go and stumbled back, back-flipping onto both feet again. Right staggered toward him, struggling with a robotic eye that Jeremy had apparently knocked loose by slugging them twice. He spun a roundhouse at their face and they went limp as his robotic heel finished the job on the eye, sending a shock through their brain. Not enough to kill, but they were staying down now. 

“Red-alert, intruders in the-!” The one with the broken nose started to spit into their walkie, bent over, holding their face.

They were interrupted by Jeremy’s axe kick to the back of their skull. They too were not going to die, but definitely not get back up any time soon. Jeremy turned back to Ryan and King to find Ryan getting the shackles off King’s ankles. 

“We have to move, how do we get the cells open?” Jeremy huffed.

“We can’t,” Ryan answered, standing as he finished, “We need too much time that we don’t have.”

Jeremy hesitated, glancing at the faces in the windows. Someone with a half-robotic face locked eyes with him.

_ Help me! Please! Get me out of here! _

Jeremy’s heart clenched as Ryan tugged on his arm. Their one organic green eye filled with tears as he was dragged away from them. Fifteen eyes watched him go. A pair of red eyes, a mismatched blue and brown pair, one gray eye with an empty socket beside it, eyes filled with pain and despair. Eyes he could not help. 

“I’m sorry,” he breathed right before he was pulled around a corner.

He knew before they were even out of sight that those eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

“Not gonna lie,” King rasped at Ryan as they ran, “I’m extremely surprised to see _you_ of all people.”

“Wonders never cease,” Ryan grunted.

They made it through the security door and around a corner before they were met with any resistance. At the other end of the hallway, several guards came around the corner. The designated exit was partway down the hall, already open. _Gold made it through then._ They made it to the door and were able to duck in before the guards started firing. Jeremy pushed the door closed and braced against it.

“Get him up the ladder!” He barked at Ryan.

Ryan hoisted a very weak and wobbly King up onto his back to climb the ladder and Jeremy focused on the door as someone slammed into it. He was strong, but there’d been at least six guards out there. No way in hell could he hold the door against six of them. There was no way to lock it from that side without Mogar or Gold’s mechanical expertise. He needed to find a way to seal or block it. 

He grunted as they slammed against it again. _Seal._ It was a _metal_ door. His hand heated up and he gripped the edge of the door where it met the frame. He hissed as the heat burned around his wrist. _Note to self:  
_

** _FUCKING OW!_ **

“Jeremy, let’s go!” Ryan called from the hatch, “We’re running out of time!”

“Fucking Christ!” Jeremy shouted.

His hand rapidly cooled, freezing the janky weld and soothing his burns. He ran to the ladder, having bought himself just enough time to get halfway up it. Ryan reached his hand down and Jeremy grabbed it just as the weld gave out. Ryan hauled him out of the hatch and slammed the thing shut. He removed Mogar’s device and the hatch sealed shut. He started dragging Jeremy away.

“The van’s the other-?” Jeremy started to remind him, looking back for it.

The van was not there. Wings left them behind. He could hear other vehicles and shouting indicating the Roosters were trying to cut off the escape and catch Wings.

“I fucking knew it!” He hissed, “What did I say?! I told her she’d abandon us if it came down to it!”

“Yes, you were right,” Ryan grunted, “Come on.”

They crossed over the sewer grate to the pipes that let out into it. Ryan removed an unlocked padlock on the pipe’s grate as the filthy water gushed over their shoes. Ryan pulled the grate open and gestured Jeremy in. Jeremy ducked down to get in the pipe and had to keep his shoulders hunched and his head down to walk through. He pinched his nose as he turned to check on Ryan who was locking the padlock back through the grate. It took him a second before he got it closed and turned to Jeremy. Being even taller, he had to duck even lower to walk through the pipe.

“Dude, you’re like an evil genius,” Jeremy mumbled as Ryan shuffled around him to lead the way, “You had a second escape plan in case she abandoned us.”

“Hm, something like that,” Ryan muttered as they moved through the water, “Actually, I figured we’d have them alerted some way. There were too many things that could’ve gone wrong. I figured, as it happened, that there would be Roosters coming around to block our exit. So the plan was for Wings to be the diversion so we could escape. 

“I knew as soon as she saw that Roosters were coming in, she’d wait only for King and split immediately. Since King would be injured, obviously we’d take him up the the ladder first. So she was statistically extremely likely to leave us behind. So when she ran off, the Roosters would follow her, leaving us free to escape into the conveniently placed sewers.”

Jeremy blinked rapidly.

“Wow, you really are an evil genius,” he murmured, completely in awe.

“Thank you,” Ryan answered, “That is very kind of you.”

_Is it?_ Jeremy wasn’t sure it was. They were quiet until they made it to the end of the pipe where there was another grate with another open padlock. 

“How did you have time for this??” Jeremy wondered as they passed onto a much more open area.

“I did it while you were sleeping,” Ryan muttered as he locked the padlock through the grate again, “Did you know you’re actually quite a heavy sleeper? You also talk in your sleep.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jeremy confirmed, looking around, “Apparently I ordered a pizza in my sleep once. Well, would’ve if I’d actually gotten the pizza place called.”

Ryan laughed as he turned toward him.

“Actually, you were talking about me,” he explained as he led Jeremy down a path, thankfully out of the water finally, “I think I was revealing myself as an Android or something in your dream. You were saying you knew I had to be synthetic because I was so pretty.”

“So glad _that’s_ the random thought that made it into my dreams,” Jeremy grumbled.

“You’re so sweet,” Ryan cooed, “You flatter me too much.”

He stopped in front of a ladder.

“Here we go,” he announced, gesturing up the ladder.

“I don’t flatter you too much,” Jeremy snorted as he started up the ladder, “You’re fucking beautiful. It’s seriously ridiculous.”

“Your angry compliments are the best,” Ryan laughed as he followed him up, “Careful with the manhole cover. Make sure no one’s around.”

Jeremy listened at the top the ladder before cautiously pushing the cover up a bit to look around. Looked clear so he pushed it the rest of the way off, sliding it to the side and climbing out. He offered his hand to Ryan and helped pull him the rest of the way out. Ryan replaced the cover while Jeremy took a closer look around. They were in an alleyway behind some buildings. He really had no idea where they were.

“Take your shoes and socks off,” Ryan instructed as he started to do the same.

He tossed them in the nearby dumpster before taking Jeremy’s hand and leading him to a back door. He put a finger to his lips as they passed through. Jeremy nodded understanding and they tip-toed quietly through what seemed to be the back room of some store. They moved around pallets of merchandise before making it to a little corner with two backpacks in it.

They dropped their clothes and cleaned off with some wipes as well as they could before putting on fresh ones. Jeremy frowned down at his clothes as they tossed the old ones in the dumpster. They were brand new, but the right size. 

“My eye,” Ryan explained, “I can tell your exact size with it. Especially since I’ve touched you.”

“That’s a pretty incredible eye,” Jeremy muttered.

“Are you trying to flatter me into staying?” Ryan snorted.

“Is it working?” Jeremy joked.

“I dunno, keep it up, we’ll see,” Ryan snickered.

“You didn’t happen to have a first aid kit did you, evil genius?” Jeremy grumbled, “My wrist is burnt from the welding the door shut.”

He lifted it to show Ryan who winced.

“Sutures and gauze is all I have,” he answered, taking his hand gingerly, “Not having the wrist seems to be a disadvantage.”

“Definitely,” Jeremy agreed, “Something to protect the organic wrist somehow would be good. Anyway, the burns aren’t too bad, but still. _Ow.”_

“Ow, indeed,” Ryan snorted.

He took Jeremy’s other hand and guided him through mid-ground. They didn’t talk much until they got back to low LS. They got in Jeremy’s car in the transit parking lot where Ryan started the process of recalling the nano machines to remove Jeremy’s hand. Jeremy’s face screwed up and he clenched his jaw in pain as the zaps shot through him to his hand, made especially bad by his wounded wrist. 

He was sweating, panting, and even crying a little by the time it came off. Ryan took the first aid kit in Jeremy’s car. He slathered burn cream on and bandage up his wrist while he caught his breath. 

“Okay?” He prompted when Jeremy finally relaxed.

Jeremy nodded and Ryan attached the new hand with much less zapping. The new hand looked quite similar to the other one, though Jeremy could tell right away it was very obviously not. He took Ryan’s organic hand then his robot hand. His hand could just barely tell the difference between synthetic and organic skin, but had no other information for him. 

“Well, I’ll miss that one,” he laughed, “But this is probably more my speed anyway.”

He wiggled his fingers.

“So you think Wings and the others made it out?” He prompted, stalling for more time with Ryan.

“They would’ve for sure, if they’d waited for us,” Ryan muttered as he wrapped up the hand and tucked it in his backpack, “I had an excellent escape plan if we’d been in the van as well. Such a shame she’s a traitor too.”

His tone was cold and bitter. 

“I know this is childish,” he murmured, toying with a zipper in his bag, “But I almost wish I could meet up with her just to rub in her face that she did in fact do what you said she would. Sort of an “I told you so” by proxy.”

Jeremy squeezed his hand.

“You’re right, that _is_ childish,” he agreed, “And it’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Ryan looked over at him, laughing.

“Good, give it double for me,” he snorted.

He paused, looking away, mirth dimming.

“I did actually feel...a bit guilty,” he admitted.

“I know, I could tell,” Jeremy assured him, squeezing his hand again, “But I meant it when I said it wasn’t your fault. Rooster Inc. did this to us. Did even worse to those poor test subjects.”

Ryan winced.

“I just can’t...it was as bad as...” he whispered, hand suddenly squeezing Jeremy’s tightly, “So many people suffering...”

“Ah, Ry!” Jeremy grunted as pain spiked up his arm, “You’re crushing my hand!”

Ryan immediately let go, jerking his robotic hand away from Jeremy’s.

“S-Sorry,” he mumbled, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, but you know this is new,” Jeremy teased, “Don’t damage within the first ten minutes. You’ll break my record of fifteen.”

Ryan puffed out a laugh, shaking his head. 

“Why are you so good at making me feel better?” He mused, smiling warmly.

“Because I’m a good guy,” Jeremy answered, reaching in the back.

He put on the white cowboy hat he’d bought earlier that day and grinned.

“See? White hat means I’m a good guy,” he laughed, swiping his fingers over the brim, “So what do you think? Should I commit to the look?”

Ryan’s eyes filled with tears as his smile went sad.

“Yeah, it looks great on you,” he murmured.

They slammed into each other, hugging tightly and crying into each other’s shoulders. 

“‘S okay,” Jeremy sobbed, “Y-You’ll come back!”

“I-I will!” Ryan promised tearfully, “A-As soon as I can! I-I’ll visit if I can!”

“Y-Yes, p-please!” Jeremy cried.

Ryan’s watch beeped and they pulled away, sniffling. Ryan tipped his hat up to kiss him firmly before pulling away and holding his face.

“Thank you for everything,” he breathed, “I have to go now.”

“Th-Thank you for everything t-too,” Jeremy sniffled, “W-We’ll see each other again. Th-That’s a Rimmy Tim promise.”

Ryan smiled.

“Then I guess it must be true,” he chuckled.

He pulled away for good, opening the door and stepping out. He gave Jeremy one last wave goodbye before mounting his bike and driving away. Jeremy waved until he couldn’t see him any more then crumpled into a ball and cried forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you thought they’d change their minds last second. Haha! No. Only sadness.


	16. Chapter 16

The day after rescuing King, when Jeremy was finally able to leave his bed he was at King’s shop, practically busting the door in. They were shocked to see him, to say the least. Wings obviously assumed neither he nor Ryan made it out. How unfortunate for her when Jeremy gave her a black eye to match the one she gave Ryan.

“I told you!” He growled as he put her in a chokehold, “I said you’d do the same!”

“Alright, you were right!” She wheezed, “Fucking hell, you were right, okay?!”

Jeremy let her go, still scowling. He turned to King.

“How are you doing anyway?” He prompted.

“Much better now that I’m free,” King assured him, “Thank you for coming for me. I’d have left you to rot.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jeremy snorted, “But don’t thank me, it was all Vagabond.”

“I would if he’d answer his phone,” King grumbled, “He _did_ make it out, right?”

“He did,” Jeremy confirmed, “But he’s not answering me either. I think maybe he‘s just tired from all that? He barely slept while we got this plan together.”

“Wow, now I feel even worse,” Wings muttered, holding an ice pack to her eye, “He really did care about getting you back.”

“Even though he knew this was Rooster Inc.,” Jeremy explained, “He said he felt a bit guilty for being the one pulling the trigger.”

“If I were him, I’d have done the same,” King dismissed, shrugging, “I hope he’s not avoiding us because he thinks we’re mad.”

“Why would he avoid the opportunity to tell me “I told you so”?” Wings snorted.

“He left that to me,” Jeremy muttered, “But anyway, I really think he’s just sleeping.”

“Hopefully,” King murmured.

He looked a bit distant, staring at the far wall. Jeremy’s heart clenched. Even though he’d not appeared very damaged _physically,_ King had obviously been shaken by whatever had happened in there. Jeremy wondered if Ryan hadn’t turned King in, if _he’d_ be the one staring at nothing, looking so haunted.  


Would they have done similar experiments on Jeremy? Would they have just killed him? Would Ryan have ended up right next to him? That thought hurt his chest and made him queasy. He didn’t think Ryan would do very well in captivity.

~

It took another two days for Jeremy to be accosted, again after a fight. Apparently they liked to corner him when they thought he was weakened. Apparently they also didn’t hear of a little thing called adrenaline which was pumping through him from the fight. If they tried to get physical, he was definitely going to win. 

There were three of them, one (obviously the boss) in the middle, and two (most-likely bodyguards) flanking him. The boss sat across from Jeremy at the little corner table where he was rewrapping his hands. The man was wearing a gray suit and had neatly-cut blonde hair. His eyes were blue and he looked to be about Ryan’s age. He also looked like he’d never even seen a fight, let alone participated in one. 

He was so obviously a silver spoon Jeremy almost felt bad for his missing wallet. Of course he knew immediately the man was there about Ryan, so he didn’t feel bad at all. But almost.

“Well, sit down I guess,” Jeremy grumbled, “What you lookin’ for tonight, boss?”

“I think we both know the answer to that, Mr. Dooley,” the man answered, voice cool and calm.

“Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it,” Jeremy countered, picking up his glass, “Tell me who you are, why you’re here, and what you want.”

He took a drink, sitting back and raising an eyebrow. The man stared at him quietly for a moment before he pulled his phone from his pocket. He tapped on it a moment before putting it on the table and sliding it toward Jeremy. Jeremy didn’t look at it, but could tell from the corner of his eye it was a picture of him and Ryan.

“Use your words like a big boy,” he sneered.

The man sighed and took his phone back.

“You may call me Gray,” he explained, “I’m here to speak with you about a man you know as Vagabond. What I want is for you to tell me where I can find him.”

“Dunno, don’t care,” Jeremy grunted, putting his glass down, “That fucker up and ghosted me. Disappeared.”

“He never told you he was leaving?” Gray pressed.

“No, though we didn’t do a lot of verbal talking,” Jeremy snorted, crossing his arms, “We tended to speak through our bodies.”

“You pursued a purely physical relationship with him?” Gray clarified.

“Mostly, yes,” Jeremy agreed.

“Yet you were seen helping him in the Parker facility, rescuing the man known as King,” Gray pointed out.

“I said _mostly_ ,” Jeremy countered, “We also did favors for each other on occasion. Exchanges. I did something for him, he did something for me.”

“What was your reward for rescuing King?” Gray questioned.

“A new hand,” Jeremy answered, lifting said hand and wiggling the fingers, “He’s a very skilled tech. Normally this would cost a fortune.”

“And after the rescue, he made no mention of leaving or where he was going?” Gray asked.

“Nope, gave me the hand and dipped,” Jeremy grunted, “Three days later and he hasn’t said a word. No one’s seen him either. Guy just left like an asshole.”

“Well then, please contact us should you hear from him,” Gray instructed, producing a business card and holding it out.

Jeremy took it and the man left. _He didn’t give me a promise of reward. Which means he’s either dumb or he knows I won’t be contacting him._ Jeremy frowned at the card. _Andrew Gray, Haywood Institute of Technology._ Jeremy had assumed the man was from Rooster Inc., but it looked like he was from the best tech institute in the country, possibly the world. 

HIT was at the forefront of all technology, filled with the best technicians and scientists in the world. They were almost always the first to create new tech and come up with new ways to use old tech. He supposed it made sense for them to be after Ryan’s nano tech. _He must’ve been working on it there, with other brilliant techs._ It certainly explained why he was so damn good at what he did. 

Jeremy rubbed his thumb over his fingertips. This hand wouldn’t just cost him a fortune. No, this hand was _priceless_. Made from scratch by a HIT tech specially for him? You didn’t get that sort of tech in the mud. He smiled as he clenched his fist. _I knew you were pretty special, Ry, but you really are something, aren’t you?_

~

After Jeremy was done fighting for the night, he was accosted again as he started to open his car door. The two bodyguards from earlier were suddenly behind him as he put his key in the lock. He spun, slamming his foot into the side of the one on his left. They stumbled into the right one who wasn’t ready and they both crashed to the ground. He quickly got his door open as they scrambled to get up.

“Weak,” he muttered as he flew from the parking lot.

This _did_ explain why Mr. Gray had been sure Jeremy wouldn’t be calling him. Can’t contact your kidnapper if they’ve already kidnapped you. He glanced in his mirror at the car following him. _Well, this is gonna be a whole thing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short because the next chapter is long...and hard. 😏


	17. Chapter 17

Jeremy couldn’t shake the HIT guys. He managed to lose them long enough to grab some stuff from his house, but as soon as he pulled into a hotel, they were on him again. He realized when he shook them and found a new hotel only for them to show again, that they somehow had hotels on the lookout for him. So he found a secluded place to park under a bridge and set his watch on a two hour timer. 

After his two-hour nap, he tried to reason through what the hell he was going to do. If they got a hold of him, they’d likely use him to get Ryan to surrender. It was pretty obvious they didn’t buy Jeremy’s bullshit about being purely sexual. They’d probably gotten pictures of them canoodling in public or something. Not that Ryan did a lot of public canoodling. 

So he had to try to keep running from them or try to kick their ass enough that they left him alone. He got the feeling the latter wouldn’t work very well since HIT had infinite resources. He could _try,_ but he doubted he could take out enough of them that continuing trying to capture him became a liability. But he was shit at running. He punched his problems. He took his phone out and started typing a message.

_ To Emergency Number: How do I run from HIT? _

He deleted that message.

_ To Emergency Number: I know it’s just been a few days, but _

He backspaced that message.

_ To Emergency Number: I could use some advice. _

He deleted that too.

_ To Emergency Number: I might need help. _

He deleted that and put his phone away. He rubbed his hands over his face. _I can’t contact him so soon. He probably just got somewhere safe. It’d be a real dick move to alarm him now. I’ll just deal with this my way. I’ll kick their asses and hope that solves the problem._ He started his car and headed for the nearest hotel, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. 

~

Jeremy got a call from an unknown number as he spat blood from his bit tongue. Gray and his two bodyguards were going up in smoke while he watched from the hood of his car. He stared at his phone a moment, debating, before the idea that it could be Ryan overpowered the worry that it was more HIT assholes.

“Hello?” He greeted.

“Oh, thank god!” Ryan gasped on the other end, “Th-They said-doesn’t matter. Are you safe?”

“For now,” Jeremy grunted, wiping blood off his lip, “Are you?”

“I’m fine,” Ryan muttered, “I’m sorry if you called me, I had to ditch the emergency phone. They got the number somehow.”

Jeremy wondered if that was his fault.

“I think we should meet up,” Ryan added, sighing, “We were better separate, but now they’re using you against me. Since I don’t know where you are, I have no idea if they’re telling the truth. I need to be able to see you and know you’re safe.”

“Are you sure?” Jeremy pressed, “You know I’ll be way harder to hide.”

“I...actually need your help,” Ryan admitted quietly, “They’re finding me too easily and I...can’t fight them properly. I’m fucking _terrible_ at fighting...I think I have a plan. If I manage it, all we need to do is run and fight a little longer and then we’ll be irrelevant.”

“Whatever you say, you’re the mastermind,” Jeremy agreed, “Tell me where to go.”

“Sandy Shores,” Ryan instructed, “You’ll have to find a way out of LS, no doubt they’ve got people on all routes out. The major ones at least. Swap your vehicle and hit the desert, try to take a minor route, if you can. Stay off the roads as much as possible. Meet me at the public beach.”

“Got it,” Jeremy confirmed, “When should I try to be there?”

“As soon as possible,” Ryan answered, “Stick around for no more than two days. If I don’t show, your best bet is to go North, leave the state.”

Jeremy swallowed. If you don’t show...that means you could die.

“Alright, I’ll see you there,” he murmured.

_ Hopefully. _

“Hopefully,” Ryan confirmed, “I...J-Jeremy, I...th-thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, soon,” Jeremy assured him.

They hung up and Jeremy stared down at his shaking hands. _What if he doesn’t show up?_ His hands clenched into fists. _If he doesn’t show, I’ll wait until he does. I’d never live with myself if I left him._ He slid from his hood and rubbed at his burning eyes. He didn’t have time for this sitting around and panicking.

~

Jeremy’s eyes scanned the beach immediately, looking for some sign that Ryan had got there first, but it didn’t look like it. He wandered around a bit, trying to be sure Ryan wasn’t there before finding a cabin rental and settling in to wait. He spent the next 36 or so hours struggling to sleep and function with his stomach in knots and his heart in his throat. 

He spent most of the time wandering the beach, looking and worrying and waiting. _Where is he?? Please show up, Ry._ He didn’t want to have to disobey Ryan’s order to leave if he didn’t show. His entire body felt like it was buzzing with anxiety, bees under his skin as he waited and waited. 

Every second was agonizing. Every second Ryan wasn’t there was another second Jeremy had to dream up a million awful things they could be doing to him. Images of blades and needles flashed in Jeremy’s brain, images of fifteen eyes staring at him, images of mismatched organics and robotics, images of angry red scars and wounds, images of King staring, pale as a ghost and eyes unfocused. Jeremy spent a lot of time curled into a tight ball, shaking in fear and recollection of the Hallway of Horrors. What if Ryan was there? What if he was somewhere _worse?_ A flash of a memory Jeremy has forgotten tried to resurface, but Jeremy shoved it away.

When Ryan did finally show, Jeremy nearly killed him on accident. It was really his own fault for breaking in the cabin while Jeremy was in bed, not sleeping. Jeremy grabbed the gun under his pillow and whipped it around to point at Ryan. Luckily, Ryan’s eye was glowing, the shade of blue a familiar and extremely welcome sight. Jeremy launched into Ryan’s arms.

“You’re okay!” He cried, “I was so fucking worried!”

Ryan squeezed him back just as tightly.

“I’m sorry for breaking in,” he murmured, “We don’t have a second to waste, they’ll be on us by the morning.”

“Okay!” Jeremy sobbed, not letting go, “J-Just a minute!”

“I-I know,” Ryan choked, “I don’t want to let go either.”

They cried and held onto each other tightly a moment before finally letting go. They kissed firmly then hurried to gather Jeremy’s things and get moving. Ryan had a car instead of his bike that they tossed Jeremy’s duffle and backpack in. Jeremy double checked that the rose Ryan gave him was intact and secure in his backpack before settling in the passenger seat. They held hands as Ryan drove them out of Sandy Shores.

“So...what’s the plan?” Jeremy prompted, “What are we gonna do?”

“We’re going to mass produce nano tech,” Ryan answered, “If everyone has it, they don’t need us.”

Jeremy frowned.

“But...isn’t that dangerous?” He prompted, “Won’t it fry people’s brains if they try it with an implant?”

“Yes,” Ryan confirmed, “But now we’re in survival mode. To save our lives, we have to risk it.”

“But loads of people will die!” Jeremy pointed out, “I thought that’s what you were trying to avoid?”

“It was,” Ryan muttered, “But now there’s a life I put above all others.”

Jeremy scowled. _Who-? Oh, he means me._

“Ryan, you can’t destroy the world just to save me,” he grumbled, “I’m not more important than the possibly millions of people who could be hurt by this.”

“Then what do you propose I do?!” Ryan cried, “B-Because I will not let you die for this! I-I got you into this mess! This is my fault! I shouldn’t have started this! I ah-shouldn’t have let myself fall in love with you! Because now if you die _I_ will die!”

He choked, hand squeezing Jeremy’s tightly. Jeremy stared at him in surprise. 

“You’re in love with me?” He whispered.

Ryan threw him an anxious glance, face going pink. 

“Y-Yes, I...I think so,” he mumbled, “I’m not totally sure. I...I’ve never...been in love. But...I think so.”

Jeremy just kept staring at him, shocked.

“Y-You should close your mouth,” Ryan muttered, “Something will crawl in.”

Jeremy’s mouth snapped shut and he stared out the windshield with wide eyes.

“So...d-do you have a r-response?” Ryan stammered.

Jeremy jerked out of his daze.

“Oh! Yes! I do!” He exclaimed, “I mean, I am! I mean, I love you!”

Ryan’s face went fully red and his shoulders relaxed. 

“That was probably the most terrifying moment of my life,” he huffed, “Genuinely thought you were going to say you didn’t and I was going to definitely fall apart if you didn’t.”

“How could I not?” Jeremy snorted, “You’re all the best things. Beautiful, kind, smart. You’re amazing.”

Ryan’s face was so red hot Jeremy thought he might melt. He cleared his throat.

“You are too, amazing,” he mumbled, “There’s one other thing you should know...”

He got distracted looking in the rearview mirror. He looked behind them and Jeremy followed suit. There was a car tailing them pretty closely. 

“That’s not good,” Jeremy commented lightly, “They don’t look very friendly.”

The car suddenly jerked forward, slamming into their rear bumper and Ryan let go of Jeremy’s hand to grab the steering wheel. 

“Idiots!” He hissed, speeding up, “You can’t kill me! You need me alive!”

They were bumped again, jostling forward.

“Why?” Jeremy grunted, “Don’t they just need your tech?”

Ryan glanced at him, face pinched with anxiety. 

“Well...not exactly,” he murmured, “They need the tech, but they need me more.”

Another car appeared on their left side.

“Are you really that crucial to the nano tech?” Jeremy wondered as he got his gun out.

“No, they could reproduce it without me,” Ryan answered as a car appeared on their left, “And after figuring out the lack of implant, I’d be completely unnecessary.”

Jeremy rolled his window down.

“So then why do they need you so bad?” He grumbled, aiming at the right car’s nearest tie.

“I suppose _need_ isn’t exactly right,” Ryan muttered, “Well, _they_ need to bring me in, because their boss wants me alive.”

Jeremy fired as he considered this. The right car swerved out as their tire blew and Ryan bumped the left car as he tried to avoid the careening right one. Left lost control and crashed into a divide. Jeremy, who’d taken his seatbelt off, slammed into his door as Ryan avoided the crash. _Someone wants him alive._

“You have some personal connection to HIT,” he guessed.

“You could say that,” Ryan snorted.

Jeremy leaned out the window to fire at the car behind them, shattering the windshield and sending it careening out of control. He flopped back in, rolled the window up, and buckled his seatbelt. 

“So what’s your connection?” He prompted.

Ryan hesitated, puffing out an anxious breath.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say,” Jeremy assured him, shrugging, “Makes no real difference to me.”

Ryan relaxed a bit, giving him a weak smile.

“Do you happen to know much about the Haywood family?” He asked carefully, “The one that runs the institute?”

“Not really,” Jeremy admitted, “We don’t care much for pompous rich fuckers in the mud. The less we know about those ivory tower assholes the better.”

Ryan laughed, shaking his head.

“What?? What’s funny??” Jeremy demanded.

“The Haywoods, there’s three in the main family,” Ryan explained, “Violet and Hugo Haywood, the heads of the family, and their son, James.”

“Okay?” Jeremy offered, “So?”

_“So,_ their son actually goes by his middle name, Ryan,” Ryan scoffed.

Jeremy frowned, then his jaw dropped, then he frowned again. 

“You’re like...Jesus, you’re _so_ fucking rich!” Jeremy exclaimed, “And wow, how the _hell_ did you end up in the mud??”

“I didn’t go straight here,” Ryan laughed, “I went to mid-ground first.”

_ Must be why he knows it so well. _

“Basically when I said no to the institute’s experiments and said I wouldn’t allow it, they tried to force me to be quiet,” He muttered, “Actually literally...”

He touched his throat and Jeremy recalled he had a throat mod he hadn’t noticed until the scanner.

“My parents stood by, insisting it was for my own good,” Ryan went on, “That I needed to learn how things worked. I was basically a prisoner, being escorted from home to work until they were sure I’d gotten the idea and would be a good little heir with my mouth shut. Eventually, they allowed me to get a voice box mod and trusted me enough to be on my own again. That’s when I took my prototype and ran.”

“Wow, I thought being an orphan sucked,” Jeremy grunted, “Turns out having parents can be even worse.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ryan murmured, “Hasn’t been fun trying to be parentless in this world. No one to fall back on when I’m totally fucked and have no one else to turn to.”

“Well, you’ve got me,” Jeremy reminded him.

Ryan smiled at him.

“Yeah, yeah I do,” he agreed softly.

They took each other’s hands again.

“Now we need to come up with a better plan than letting people fry their brains,” Jeremy insisted, “There’s gotta be something we can do.”

“I don’t see what,” Ryan grumbled, “Our enemy is one of the most powerful entities in the world, backed by the company that runs our country. And neither are above torture and murder. And also they are extremely focused on us because they _really_ don’t like us and _really_ want my tech.”

Jeremy hummed thoughtfully, looking out the windshield again.

“So what we need is to give them something else to worry about,” He muttered, “A distraction that takes all of their focus so we can disappear.”

“Exposing their secrets would be a way,” Ryan suggested, “If we could get proof of Masston out there-“

Jeremy stiffened, face going pale.

“-they’d be so busy with backlash they wouldn’t be able to follow us,” Ryan continued, “Not that we have the ability to do that. Their records on the-Jeremy?”

He looked over, seeming to notice a Jeremy’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Jeremy, are you alright?” He called softly, squeezing his hand, “What happened? Why are you upset?”

“Masston...you know about Masston,” Jeremy whispered, eyes wide.

Ryan frowned at him then looked out the windshield, humming thoughtfully.

“You were there,” he realized, _“That’s_ why you refuse to use an implant.”

Jeremy was suddenly hyperventilating. He slapped his hands over his ears as he heard the screaming of his memories. _Agony, fear, despair._ He squeezed his eyes closed. He was tiny again, so small. He couldn’t breathe, the smell of blood and smoke was choking him like a snake around his windpipe. 

_Help me!_ He wanted to cry, but the snake was tight on his throat. Hands, there were hands on him. _Leave me alone!_ He tried to scream as pain erupted from his thigh. _No, please!_ He tried to choke out. He tried to cry for help again as his vision faded.

“Jeremy!”

Jeremy was jostled half out of his memory by the sound of Ryan’s voice. 

“You’re not there, Jeremy!” Ryan called out, “You’re with me! In the present! You’re s-safe!”

The cries of anguish started to fade and Jeremy blinked his eyes open to find himself staring at the carpeted floor of a car. He gasped in several non-metallic, smokeless breaths of mostly fresh air. Ryan’s hand was rubbing his back as he slowly, shakily lowered his from his ears. 

“You with me?” Ryan asked gently.

“Y-Yes,” Jeremy rasped.

“I’m sorry, I...didn’t know,” Ryan murmured.

“It’s...not your fault,” Jeremy huffed, “I...haven’t had a flashback in...so many years. I thought...I’d repressed it completely.”

“That’s probably not healthy,” Ryan muttered.

“Yeah.”

Jeremy slowly got his breath back and shakily sat up straight.

“We shouldn’t stay stopped for long,” he whispered.

“Right.”

Ryan started the car again and pulled back onto the road. He held Jeremy’s hand gently, rubbing his thumb over the back of it. 

“So we’ll pick something else to expose,” He suggested, “They’ve got plenty of skeletons.”

“So Rooster Inc., they did it?” Jeremy mumbled, “And HIT was in on it?”

“Yes, it was a joint effort,” Ryan confirmed.

“They’ve been under my nose the whole time,” Jeremy snorted, shaking his head, “I never knew...I was so young, I barely remember it fully...what were they really trying to do?”

“Mind control,” Ryan answered, “Via the implants. Obviously that’s not what happened.”

Jeremy recalled a flash of the nuns at the orphanage shuddering and stumbling forward several steps before...he closed his burning eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan repeated, squeezing his hand briefly.

“We need to expose this,” Jeremy grunted, eyes opening, “This is the one thing we have an eye witness for.”

“We can find others,” Ryan protested.

“No, this will be good therapy for me,” Jeremy joked, though his voice was more dark than amused, “It’s probably about time I stopped ignoring this trauma and put it to rest for good. Maybe then I can get an implant.”

Ryan gave him a torn up, half-exasperated, half-worried look. 

“Not if you’re going to use the hand,” he pointed out, “And if we’re gonna do this, we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“Then I guess we better head back to our glorious filthy City of Saints,” Jeremy mused, “I’ve got some friends in low places.”

Ryan laughed, shaking his head.

“You always make me feel better,” he chuckled, “Even when _I_ should be making _you_ feel better.”

“I do,” Jeremy assured him.

Ryan gave him a doubtful look, but Jeremy smiled softly. Ryan relaxed a bit and smiled back. It was the truth too. Jeremy had never had anyone help him out of a flashback. He’d spent hours curled up in closets or under blankets. He usually passed out before he got out of them. But it had been something like twelve years since he’d had one. 

Just hearing the name had disrupted his strict denial that _the_ _Thing_ had ever happened. It truly had just been lying right below the surface. _Waiting._ He shivered. Ryan squeezed his hand again and Jeremy relaxed a bit. It was okay to be vulnerable again, because Ryan was there. He’d told himself not to rely on him, but it was obvious now that it would always turn out like this. He’d needed someone and Ryan had just happened along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys are back.


	18. Chapter 18

Ryan looked around the parking lot anxiously as Jeremy parked across from Matt’s car. He wasn’t a fan of returning to Los Santos or meeting up with Matt. He wasn’t a fan of most of this situation. He really didn’t want Jeremy to be in danger, apparently. Jeremy didn’t want him to be in danger either, but he couldn’t just let him endanger lives just to save their own.

Matt and Trevor got out of Matt’s car and Ryan and Jeremy slid out of theirs. They met in the small space between the trunks and Matt immediately hugged Jeremy.

“You alright, Jer?” He grunted, squeezing him, “I’ve been worried.”

“I’m fine,” Jeremy assured him, squeezing back.

He’d forgotten Matt was such a good friend. He’d been so wrapped up in Ryan lately, he’d neglected his other friends. _Great, another thing to feel guilty over._ They parted and Matt squeezed his shoulders before letting go.

“So tell me what’s going on,” he ordered, crossing his arms, “Why the hell are you all over the news?”

Jeremy’s eyebrows went up.

“We’re on the news??” He demanded, looking over at Ryan, “Did you know about this?”

Ryan shook his head, frowning.

“Are we wanted?” He questioned.

Matt pulled out his phone and played a news report for them. Pictures of them appeared on the screen beside a tired looking news anchor.

“The police department has issued a formal statement regarding Vagabond and Rimmy Tim,” they spoke, “The two men wanted for the triple homicide that occurred several days ago.”

The feed was replaced by an important looking police officer at a podium. _This is head of police or something, right?_

“Regarding the two men known as the Vagabond and Rimmy Tim,” they began gruffly, “It has come to our attention that they are responsible for several more deaths in automobile collisions just outside of Sandy Shores. These men are extremely dangerous, armed, and highly volatile. 

“Any sightings should be immediately reported and under no circumstances should you approach these men. We are doing everything in our power to apprehend them before they can cause more damage. Thank you.”

The feed cut back to the anchor, but Matt turned it off. Jeremy looked anxiously at Ryan who was frowning again. That did not bode well. At least he wasn’t in someone’s head plate this time though. _Small blessings._

“So?” Matt prompted, “Wanna tell me why you’re wanted for nine counts of second degree murder?”

“And several other, smaller crimes,” Trevor piped up, “Assault, breaking and entering, grand theft auto.”

“Oh boy,” Jeremy muttered, “That’s probably not good.”

“Definitely not,” Ryan agreed, “If the police catch us, we’re sitting ducks. We need somewhere to hide while we get the plan in order.”

“You can crash with me for a bit,” Matt offered, “As long as no one comes sniffing around.”

“I really appreciate that,” Jeremy murmured, “We’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“What else do you need?” Trevor prompted, “You said you have some plan?”

“Plan, I feel is a strong word,” Jeremy snorted, “More like a vague idea.”

“Barely even an idea,” Ryan grumbled.

“But we’re gonna stop the evil Rooster Inc. and HIT!” Jeremy announced, chin lifting, “We’re gonna be heroes!”

Matt and Trevor glanced at each other before snorting, bursting into laughter. Ryan kissed Jeremy’s cheek as he whined about being laughed at. 

“You’re so cute,” he cooed.

“Noo, stop saying that!” Jeremy whined.

“Stop being so damn cute then,” Ryan laughed.

“No!” Jeremy huffed, crossing his arms.

Ryan grabbed him around the middle and peppered his face with kisses.

“So cuteeee!” He exclaimed.

“Noooo!” 

~

Ryan finished drawing the map and he and Jeremy looked over it. 

“There’s only one point of access,” he grunted, tapping the map of the HIT archives, “One door in.”

“No vents?” Jeremy prompted.

“Too small,” Ryan muttered.

“Okay, how do we get in the door?” Jeremy prompted.

“We don’t,” Ryan snorted, “There’s at least two more doors we have to get through before this one anyway. We can’t get through any of these doors without access. And we’d need a truckload of manpower, tech, and time to get that.”

“Alright, say you had the resources though,” Jeremy pressed.

Ryan hummed thoughtfully, eyebrows coming together. He pulled out his phone and brought up a blueprint. Jeremy waited patiently as he came up with a plan. Finally he set the phone down with a sigh.

“Okay, we’d need you to meet someone with clearance, first of all,” he began, “You shake their hand, we’ve got what we need to get us through the palm scanner. But we’d still need a retinal scan too. So I need to construct an eye that can pass. I’d need a retinal scan of their eye to reconstruct it.”

“You should pick someone with a robotic eye,” Jeremy suggested, “We could break in and steal it, then they’d think they lost it. No suspicions raised, right? And you wouldn’t have to reconstruct it.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows at him.

“That is actually a very good idea,” he agreed.

Jeremy brightened up, grinning widely. Ryan smiled and ruffled his hair.

“I’m rubbing off on you,” he snorted.

“Hell yeah,” Jeremy laughed, winking.

Ryan rolled his eyes then looked back at the blueprints and the map.

“Even if we get this though,” he muttered, “I’ll be recognized immediately if I’m seen.”

“Then you stay out,” Jeremy suggested, “I’ll go in alone.”

Ryan frowned at him.

“You could be recognized easily too,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I know,” Jeremy grumbled, sighing, “But my height is the only noticeable thing. They probably won’t actually recognize me. Especially if I disguise myself somehow.”

Ryan tapped his fingers on his knee.

“I don’t like this,” he muttered, “I don’t want you going in alone. What happens if they capture you? _I_ can’t fight through them to get you back out.”

“Then I better not get captured,” Jeremy offered brightly, “So what else do we need?”

Ryan sighed.

“There’s also an access code,” he continued, “They change them every few hours.”

“Wow, they’re really strict about these records,” Jeremy commented, looking over the map.

“Yes, well, they don’t want what happened in Ma-“ Ryan started, then stopped, glancing at Jeremy, “They don’t want the implant incident to get leaked. But that’s not all that’s in there. The archive is the closet filled with skeletons, including secret weapon plans that could bring about World War Four, if they were discovered.”

Jeremy swallowed down the memory-filled bile rising in his throat in favor of focusing on the weapons.

“Just their existence could send us to war?” He pressed.

“Yes, if other countries knew what we were sitting on, we could be declared too risky to leave alone,” Ryan confirmed, “There are some very horrible things in that closet.”

Jeremy frowned at the map.

“Then we should destroy it,” he muttered, “After we get the records on... _that_ , we should destroy the rest.”

“That would be extremely dangerous,” Ryan argued, “If the archive senses a threat to the information, it will seal off and pull all the oxygen out of the room. You’d suffocate.”

“Can’t we find some way?” Jeremy questioned, looking up at Ryan, “This is very important. People are in danger as long as HIT is allowed to keep these weapons on their belt.”

“It’s too risky,” Ryan insisted, “Their security is shoot first, ask questions later. An employee was accidentally killed there once. Someone who had access and every right to be there. But the sensors picked up something faulty in their tech and deemed it a hazard. They suffocated while we failed to bypass the security. Its been upgraded since then, but still. It’s a risk to even go inside, let alone actually try to damage something.”

Jeremy sighed in defeat.

“Alright,” he relented, “Maybe just exposing them will stop them from being able to use the weapons.”

“Perhaps,” Ryan murmured, “But I’m doubtful.”

“So plan of action,” Jeremy moved on, “Get into High Los Santos. Get into HIT by stealing a handprint and an eye. Get the security code. How do we do that?”

“Anyone with access will be given the code upon arrival,” Ryan explained, “At the employee entrance. You swipe your card and it gives you the code for the timeframe you’ve arrived in and your level of access.”

“Okay, how do we get a card?” Jeremy prompted.

“That’s one of the major problems.” Ryan grumbled, “If a card is stolen or lost, it must be immediately reported and the card’s access is revoked. We’d have to take it, use it, and return it before it was noticed. But the next problem is, the system will know if that person’s card is supposed to be there. So we can’t have someone call in sick, then the system will know they’re not supposed to be coming into work. Likewise if they’ve already entered the building, it will note the card is being used twice.”

“So we’d have to kidnap someone,” Jeremy guessed, “Grab them before they can go into work. We could grab our access guy, take his card and eye.”

“No, the higher the access, the more security,” Ryan dismissed, “To get into the archives takes level two access. If a level three or higher card is swiped, the guards have to check that the person swiping the card is the right one. We’d have to grab a four or a five access card to get in the building.”

“Jesus, this is convoluted,” Jeremy muttered, “But I guess it makes sense. They don’t want anyone just walking in.”

“The elevator is also restricted,” Ryan added, “You have to swipe a level three or higher card to get into the floor with the archive and provide a retinal scan. But with people around, you can’t hold up someone else’s eye. And again, the elevator will know if that card has already been used.”

“Oh boy,” Jeremy sighed, slumping a bit, “This is going to be a pain.”

He picked up Ryan’s phone to look at the blueprint, frowning thoughtfully.

“What about maintenance?” He suggested, “There’s a maintenance ladder along the elevator shaft usually. All I have to do is get access to that and climb up to the floor I need, right?”

“You’ll still run into a block,” Ryan dismissed, “The let out will require the right access code and card again. And if the system shows no need for you to be there, security will be alerted.”

“So we make a need,” Jeremy offered, putting the phone back down, “If I’m in the elevator shaft, I can sabotage the doors for that floor from the inside. I get onto the floor, slip away to the bathroom to change, and then go to the archive. All that leaves is how to get the access code.”

“And there’s still the matter of finding out how to get the security feeds to ignore you,” Ryan pointed out, “There’s cameras all over the building. Well, except for the elevator shaft. You’d be safe in there. But as soon as you step onto the floor, there will be cameras all over you.”

“We need a distraction,” Jeremy guessed, “The sabotage needs to be big enough to distract security from my sketchy behavior.”

“But not big enough to cause a total evacuation,” Ryan added, “Something effective and annoying, but not dangerous.”

“Well, that sounds like fun,” Jeremy laughed, grinning at Ryan, “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

Ryan rolled his eyes, chuckling lightly.

“Better be good, I guess,” he snorted.

Jeremy rubbed his hands together. 

“We’re like spies!” He giggled, “This is so exciting!”

Ryan laughed and ruffled his hair again. Then Jeremy watched him get an idea, his face brightening and his eyes widening a bit. It was almost like Jeremy could see the lightbulb turn on above his head. He sat forward to scroll over the blueprints on his phone. Jeremy had a feeling this was gonna be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t mean for this chapter to sound foreboding, but it sort of does seem that way.


	19. Chapter 19

Jeremy had all the tools for success. He had the eye, the hand, the card, the little flying machine, and Ryan’s distraction. Now he just needed to stick to the plan and Ryan would get that access code. 

“You’ve got this,” Ryan assured him in his ear, “Don’t worry, you can do this.”

Jeremy puffed out a sigh. _I’ve got this. Ryan’s an evil genius, no way will I fail when I’ve got his plan going for me. Easy peasy._ He walked through the employee entrance and got into the line for the maintenance staff.

“Go ahead and drop it,” Ryan instructed.

Jeremy let go of the tiny flying machine Ryan had given him. It was about the size of a fly. It could do little but fly and show them what it was seeing. Jeremy pointedly didn’t look at it as Ryan flew it over to the man missing one eye in the technician line. 

“554FRN,” Ryan muttered, “And we’ve got a bit over an hour.”

_That should be plenty of time._ Jeremy was next in line. He stepped past the little curtain. He held the card over the scanner and tried to stop himself from sweating as he waited for it to be approved. It beeped approval and flashed the security code for his level of clearance. He pushed through the turnstiles, suppressing the urge to sigh with relief. 

He made his way over to the maintenance door for the elevator and scanned the card again. He was allowed in the maintenance shaft and the door closed behind him. He puffed out that suppressed sigh, clutching his chest. _Okay. We’re okay._

“You’re doing great,” Ryan encouraged, “Just keep it up.”

“I’m sweating _so_ badly,” Jeremy muttered as he started up the ladder, “But really, you were right. I just pretended I belonged and no one even looked at me.”

“Honestly, getting in was never as hard as it should’ve been,” Ryan admitted, “I think they relied on the idea that no high-siders would break in. They didn’t expect anyone of questionable background to be able to get into High LS.”

“Guess they didn’t hear of a thing called bribery,” Jeremy snorted as he stopped at the right level, “Or friendly favors.”

“Humans are fallible,” Ryan grunted, “Everyone can make bad decisions.”

“Or good decisions, depending on what side you’re looking on,” Jeremy pointed out as he pulled Ryan’s distraction from the tool belt, “I mean, it’s bad for these assholes that the transit lady let us through, but it’s great for us.”

“What is it for her, I wonder?” Ryan murmured.

“Well, it’s neutral, isn’t it?” Jeremy answered as he leaned his head into the elevator shaft, “It doesn’t change a lot for her either way. I mean, not unless she’s found out. Then it would be negative.”

He stuck the little speaker to the elevator cable and ducked back. 

“I’ll never really understand her or the others like her,” Ryan confessed, “I didn’t really help them out of the goodness of my heart or anything. I mean, they paid me. They don’t owe me anything.”

Jeremy held up his hand to block his face from the blast of air as the elevator zipped upward. 

“I think it’s on,” he announced, “But anyway, you know a lot of people won’t do what you do. It’s extremely dangerous and illegal to do most of what you do in your back alley tech work, in fact.”

“I guess so,” Ryan conceded, “But they paid heavy prices still. It’s not like I work for free.”

“No one does,” Jeremy snorted, “But there’s also going above and beyond. There’s doing more than you have to, even when you’re being paid. Or doing jobs no one else wants to do.”

“Hm, I suppose,” Ryan mused, “I guess it doesn’t really matter. I should just be grateful they’re willing to help me out occasionally.”

“This wouldn’t have been possible without friends,” Jeremy agreed.

They were quiet a moment as they waited.

“Friends,” Ryan muttered, “I...can’t remember the last time I really thought I had a friend...Other than you, of course.”

_ Oh, Ryan.  _

“Well, you’ve got a few now,” Jeremy assured him.

The elevator finally stopped at the floor. As soon as it stopped, Jeremy hit the remote for the speaker. Someone in the elevator shouted in alarm as opera music began belting out of the speaker.

“That’s a really good speaker,” Jeremy laughed.

“Thank you, Mr. Rimmy, I do try to please you,” Ryan joked.

The vibrations from the speaker on the cable caused the elevator to lock in place. A red light turned on next to the maintenance door for that floor. He scanned the card and opened the door before turning off the speaker. The elevator dinged as it finally opened. Jeremy kept the maintenance door just barely open as he waited for the elevator to close and move on. He hit the speaker remote again and heard a distant shout of surprise as opera music began again. He repeated the process and then again a third time before stepping onto the floor.

He made his way to the nearest bathroom as quickly as he could, turning the opera music on and off randomly. _That’ll keep eyes off me for a bit._ Once in the bathroom, he switched the maintenance jumpsuit with his tech outfit which was under the jumpsuit. He hoped the fold wrinkles weren’t too eye-catching on the lab coat as he pulled it on and closed it over the tool belt. 

Once he looked the part, Jeremy had his hand switch to the one-eyed man’s. It zapped him badly, just like before. Getting used to the hand all over again was annoying, but worth it to have its cool spy capabilities back. He exited the bathroom and made his way down the hallway, still turning the speaker on and off. He could hear confused shouting back toward the elevator. He stifled a giggle at the image of HIT douchebags scrambling over themselves trying to figure out the problem.

He hesitated at the door to the archive. He wasn’t sure if the security guards at the cameras were looking away or not. He didn’t have anyway of telling either. He just had to do it and hope. He put his hand on the scanner and held the eye up to be scanned as well. He closed his own to be sure they didn’t interfere. After the longest three seconds of his life, the scanners beeped.

“Access code three or above is required,” a cool, feminine sort of voice spoke.

_554FRN,_ Jeremy typed into the keypad.

“Access granted,” the voice spoke again.

_ Click. _

The door unlocked. Jeremy carefully pushed it open and stepped inside. 

“-emy?” Ryan’s voice crackled on the earpiece, “-hear me?...Just te...”

Jeremy scowled, tapping his finger against the earpiece as he moved forward. The room seemed to be interfering with their connection. That was fine. Except Jeremy had no idea where to look for the files they needed. Ryan had assured him he’d guide him so he didn’t have to remember any details of his trauma. No triggers. It looked like there was a new development that was making that impossible. _Great._

Jeremy looked around the room carefully. The rows of tall shelves were very intimidating, looming over him like silent guardians of the information they held. He felt very small and judged, like the shelves knew he was unworthy of their precious treasure.  


There were letters on the sides of them, indicating what range of words each shelf contained. He swallowed nervously as he moved through the shelves looking for the range containing “mas”. It would be under the name, right?

He found the shelf and stepped between two to search. He felt claustrophobic in the narrow space between the shelves. He brushing his fingers lightly over the spines of the binders. _Mable, macaroni, mad king._ Jeremy paused over the binder. _Mad King._ Wasn’t that what Church kept calling Ryan? _Interesting._ Jeremy continued. _Magic, mail, maker, mane, mark, masa._ Jeremy stopped.

_ Masa, mase, mash, mask, mason, masque, mass, massed, masses, massive, masson, masston.  _

Jeremy’s fingers laid lightly over the name. Masston. The phantom smell of blood and smoke wafted over him as he gently pulled the binder from its spot. His hands shook as he turned it and opened the cover. He was surprised as he looked down at it. _Paper._ He’d expected a USB stick or maybe even a small hard drive. But no, it was printed on paper. _Weird._

He flipped the first page which only contained the name of the town and the term “Project: Control” on it. The next few pages were profiles of scientists and techs that were working on the “project”. Then was an explanation of what they were doing. Attempting to use special Rooster Inc. implants to control the actions of the citizens of Masston. 

Jeremy felt queasy as he flipped through an extensive list of the citizens and their status after the incident. His name was on it, listing him as missing, presumed dead. That was a fair assumption as his leg was no doubt found detached, in a massive pool of blood. He was quite young too. That much blood loss, it was really a miracle he survived. He pushed down the memory of his “escape” and continued flipping.

The results of fiddling with brain implants were not pretty and Jeremy’s mind blurred like chalk on a sidewalk getting rained on. _Blood. Electricity. Smoke. Bits of bone,_ that he hadn’t recognized as a child, but now was feeling the urge to throw up over. He flipped quicker, ignoring the detailed accounts of what happened to who, trying to get to the end. Hopefully there was an ending paper that would simply tell him a summary of everything he needed. He couldn’t very well take the whole thing. He wasn’t even sure he could take one page. 

A lightbulb flickered on in his head. The eye could record the pages, right? He thought that was one of the features Ryan had mentioned. Jeremy quickly fumbled for the eye and flipped the binder back to the front. _Okay, how do I make it record though?_ His hand zapped him and he looked over in time to watch it shift around the eye, crawling over it like a swarm of ants. He shuddered as the nano machines infiltrated the eye and began the recording.

He flipped through as quickly as he could without ripping the pages, actually closing his eyes to stop from seeing all the reports again. He could remember well enough. Sister Mary’s head had outright exploded. Sister Anna had lost her sight, her robotic eyes going haywire. Sister Lily...well... Jeremy‘s thigh throbbed with memory. He puffed out a shaky breath as he finished recording the file and closed it. 

No time for memories. No time for panic. No time for breakdowns. He slipped the binder back in place with shaking hands and started to limp away. He stumbled, gripping at the nearest shelf. _Small._ He was so small. Shrinking. _Tiny._ _He couldn’t feel his leg past the horrible pain in his thigh._

“Help me,” he rasped as he fell.

_Smoke, screaming, the hard ground beneath him._ A red light he didn’t remember glared at him as he tried to crawl forward. _A figure crouched down in front of him._

_ “You still alive, kid?” The man grunted, voice deep and gruff, “You’re a mess, but you’re gonna make it. If you can get yourself up.” _

“I can’t!” Jeremy sobbed.

_ “Then die in the mud,” the man answered, “Sorry, but if you’re too weak, you’re better off this way.” _

_ Jeremy cried out in despair and agony.  _

_ “You can get up, kid,” the man assured him, “You’re strong. You just have to decide to do it.” _

_ Jeremy socked him in the mouth, but his weak little fist did no damage. _

_ “Haha, what’d I say?” The man laughed, “Strong. Now quit yer pity and get to your feet. Er, foot.” _

_ Jeremy wobbly pushed up off the ground, arms shaking as he tried to get his legs under him. His thigh’s pain screamed from his mouth and he choked on smoke. Get up. Get up. Get up. He shook fiercely, sobbing as he stood, supported by only one leg. He wobbled forward, but the man caught him before he could fall. _

_ “Now, always remember, kid, you saved yourself,” he grunted, “Don’t you ever forget that your own strength got you out of here.” _

Jeremy shuffled, leg dragging behind him as he pulled himself forward, out of the memory. The smoke cleared and the smell of blood faded. He stepped on his robotic foot, limping forward as the pain dulled, walking as it disappeared. He pressed his hand to the archive door, trying to even his breathing. He was losing oxygen. The glaring light was his warning that he’d triggered the security lockdown. 

“Ry?” He huffed, “Can you hear me?”

The earpiece provided no answer. _I’m on my own._ He looked over the door, trying to find a weak spot or a clue of what to do. He tried to override the security with the handprint and retinal scan, but was denied. 

“What would get me out?” He rasped.

“Only the Haywood Family may override the security,” the door informed him.

“Great!” Jeremy exclaimed brightly.

His hand changed to Ryan’s and he pressed it on the scanner, praying it was enough and he didn’t need the eye as well.

“Override successful.”

The light turned off and air blasted into the room. Jeremy gasped in relieved breaths and flung open the door. He was met by three guns, the business ends pointed slightly above his head. Sometimes his height had advantages. He slammed a front kick into the middle guard, grabbing their wrist to stop the gun from pointing down. He jerked their hand to the left and slammed his other hand into the wrists of the one on the right. The gun fired next to his ear before it fell. 

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Ryan shouted, “Jeremy??”

“You’re back!” Jeremy exclaimed, side-kicking the left guy, “I did it! But security may have sensed my presence. A little bit.”

He spun, sending his foot into middle guy’s hip, which pushed him into right guy, giving Jeremy an opening. 

“So, plans?” He prompted as he darted through said opening, avoiding their grabbing hands.

“Turn left down the first hallway,” Ryan ordered.

Jeremy stumbled around the corner.

“All the way to the end, turn right.”

Jeremy ran down the hall as the security guards caught up. There was one pot shot fired before the guards shouted something about endangering others and they switched their guns for tasers. They were still behind Jeremy, but catching up fast with their longer strides. Jeremy rounded the corner, knocked right into someone and vaulted over them as they fell.

“Sorry!” He threw over his shoulder.

“Last door on the left.”

Jeremy broke the doorknob off in his haste to get the door open. He got in and pressed his back against the door, heaving in huge breaths.

“Do you have an appointment?” A bored voice asked dryly.

Jeremy jumped a bit in surprise.

“Tell him you know me,” Ryan instructed.

“H-Hi, I uh, I know Ryan?” Jeremy greeted, waving his hand.

The person’s dark eyebrows rose. But before the conversation could continue, the door was knocked against. Jeremy pressed back more firmly.

“N-Now what?” He grunted, “I’m cornered!”

The person stood and grabbed the visitor chair in front of his desk. He jammed it under the doorknob to hold the door in place, freeing Jeremy. 

“You’ll go out the window,” Ryan explained, “There’s rope in your belt. Tie it to his desk, open the window and climb down. No time to argue, just move!”

Jeremy did as he was told while the owner of the office braced against the door. Jeremy stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, finding no opening mechanism. He slammed his fist into it as it zapped into metal form and cracks bloomed outward from his knuckles. A second hit and the glass shattered. He tossed the rope out and moved to climb out.

“Sorry for the intrusion!” He called to the guy at the door.

The guy snorted and rolled his eyes as Jeremy dropped out of the window. The rope was nowhere near long enough for all ten stories, but it was long enough to get him close enough that he wouldn’t die on impact if he rolled right. Then, as he got to the end, the van screeched into position under it, giving him a sort of safety net that meant he probably wouldn’t break any bones either. _Probably._

He dropped into a roll, which he misjudged and ended up rolling right off the van onto the pavement. 

“Shit!” He grunted as he smacked his face on concrete.

_Note to self: oww._ He groaned as he scrambled to his feet, getting the passenger door open. Ryan peeled out before he even got it closed again. Jeremy hurriedly slammed the door shut and buckled his seatbelt. 

“Y-You’re bleeding!” Ryan exclaimed, struggling to keep his eyes on the road.

Jeremy touched his scraped up face.

“I’m fine,” he muttered, “Focus on getting us out of here.”

“Your arm, Jeremy!” Ryan shrieked. 

Jeremy looked down at the torn up and bloody sleeve of the lab coat. The glass had torn up his wrist a bit.

“Nothing serious,” he insisted as he grabbed the first aid kit, “Just some bandages will do for now. You focus on the road.”

He wrapped his wrist up, subtly brushing away pieces of glass, hoping Ryan didn’t see them and panic worse.

“You wanna hear something funny?” He grunted as he tapped the gauze, “I had to use your handprint to get out of the archive.”

Ryan’s face twisted up in a frown.

“My hand can still be used?” He murmured, “We had it changed after Bellflower died so we always had the ability to get someone out if necessary. I’m surprised they didn’t change it when I left. Though I suppose it has an alert to notify the whole building if I use it.”

“Probably,” Jeremy agreed, “I bet the whole building is rigged to lockdown if you try to get past _any_ security. I mean, look how many people are chasing us. They _really_ want you back.”

“They need an heir,” Ryan grumbled, “And I’m the best American tech currently residing in the country.”

Jeremy gave him a dry look. 

“Bit arrogant,” he pointed out.

“That’s what _they_ called me,” Ryan amended, “Not me. Though I am quite good, I don’t claim to be the best at anything. Would you do your thing now? Get rid of them.”

“I don’t have a weapon,” Jeremy grumbled.

“MacGyver something then,” Ryan suggested.

“The fuck is a MacGyver?” Jeremy snorted, “Sounds like a disease.”

“MacGyver was the protagonist in a really old tv series,” Ryan explained, rolling his eyes, “He consistently got out of situations by creating contraptions using whatever he could find. It became a saying that if you had to get out of a jam by using whatever random things you could find, you were MacGyver-ing.”

“Feel more like John Wayne,” Jeremy snorted, “One guy always up against a damn army.”

“You know John Wayne but not MacGyver??” Ryan demanded.

“John Wayne was a cowboy!” Jeremy protested, “Of course I know John Wayne!”

“Unbelievable,” Ryan muttered, shaking his head.

Jeremy stuck his tongue out at him and he snorted on laughter as he tried to give him a stern look. Jeremy grinned. _I knew this would be fun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy has a great time on his spy date.


	20. Chapter 20

“Well, I think we’ve shaken the last of them for now,” Jeremy muttered, settling back in his seat, “We better hurry over to King and Matt.”

He put the AK under the backseat.

“Hopefully they didn’t leave,” Ryan grumbled, “This took longer than expected.”

“I’m sure they’re still over there,” Jeremy assured him, “I mean, Matt said he’d pretty much cleared his whole day so he could be there.”

“Your friend seems too nice,” Ryan grunted, “I know I’m distrustful, but hasn’t he been rather more helpful than most low-siders?”

“He’s always been like that,” Jeremy admitted, shrugging, “With certain people anyway. I imagine if it was just you, he wouldn’t help you at all, but he’s good to his friends. I feel bad I haven’t been talking to him or hanging out much. He’s actually a good guy.”

“Loyalty is a good thing,” Ryan murmured, “But also a deadly weakness. He’s putting a lot on the line for you.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely not smart,” Jeremy snorted, “But we don’t care a lot for wits down here. I mean, why else would we been going up against HIT and Rooster Inc.?”

Ryan hummed noncommittally as he pulled into the abandoned parking garage they were meeting the others in. Hopefully after they copied the recording and got it out, this would all be essentially over. They parked next King’s car and stepped out. Ryan looked tense, eyes darting around as they met King at his trunk. Ryan gave Jeremy a worried look and Jeremy had to admit something didn’t feel right. 

Then Church got out of the car on the other side of King’s that Jeremy hadn’t seen well enough to recognize as not Matt’s. 

“Well, do you like the surprise we set up for you?” Church laughed as he stopped next to King.

_ Whack! _

Church stumbled as Jeremy clocked him.

“Yeah, I think I love this surprise,” Jeremy growled.

He slammed his foot into Church’s guts, sending him reeling, wheezing. 

“You silver spoon fuck, why can’t you just leave us alone?!” He spat, “Now what is he threatening us with?”

He looked at King who shook his head.

“Nothing,” he snorted, “I’m just on the payroll again.”

Jeremy stared at him in disbelief.

“Seriously?!” He demanded, “After all that, you went back?!”

King shrugged.

“Good pay,” he muttered, “Good dental plan too.”

_ Whack! _

King grunted as Jeremy’s metal fist slammed into his face. 

“How’s that for dental, you traitorous fuck?!” Jeremy sneered as King spat out a tooth.

“We have to go,” Ryan announced, grabbing Jeremy’s arm, “No time for fighting!”

They hurried to get into the car and peeled out. They were again set upon by several dark vehicles that had apparently been coming in to ambush them. 

“Now would be a great time for the police to pull these assholes over,” Jeremy grumbled.

“You really think they’d stop?” Ryan snorted, “Even if they didn’t own the police, they’re not gonna see flashing lights and just pull over.”

“I can dream,” Jeremy huffed, “So then what do we do?”

“I...don’t...know,” Ryan mumbled, “I’ve run out of ideas.”

“Well, at least I’ve got a gun,” Jeremy muttered as he retrieved said weapon, “The benefits of being in the mud, I guess. I thought we were never gonna lose them up in the ivory towers.”

He reloaded the AK.

“At least up there _they_ couldn’t shoot us either,” Ryan pointed out as Jeremy rolled down the window, “Though they didn’t hit us very much earlier anyway.”

“They probably don’t want to accidentally kill you,” Jeremy countered as he leaned out the window.

He fired a burst of bullets at the front tires of the car right behind them. Suddenly a car turned onto the street, sidling up to theirs. 

“Hey, you two look like you could use some help!” Matt shouted over the window.

“Ya think?!” Jeremy snorted as he fired again, “Got any ideas?”

“One or two,” Matt laughed, “Follow me!”

Jeremy gave him a mock salute and leaned back in to make sure Ryan heard. 

“Are we really going to trust more so called friends right now?!” Ryan hissed.

“Matt _is_ my friend,” Jeremy grumbled, “But really, do we have much other choice? We cut off one head, three more grow back!”

He gestured behind them where three new cars had replaced the one he’d shot off the road. 

“Trusting someone else is just going to result in the same!” Ryan insisted.

“We _need_ allies, Ryan!” Jeremy snapped, “We can’t do it alone! Yes, we can stand on our own, but we need someone to help us walk! I didn’t make it out of there on my own, remember? Your friend helped me!”

Ryan’s face was twisted up and his jaw clenched, but he slowed down to let Matt pass in front of them. He looked like it physically pained him to do so, but he did it. He glanced over at Jeremy and his twisted expression dropped in favor of a deeply concerned one.

“Jeremy, are you okay?” He questioned, “Why are you crying??”

“I-I didn’t make it out on m-my own!” Jeremy cried, “H-He had to help me!”

“That’s okay, it’s okay, Jeremy,” Ryan quickly assured him.

Jeremy was so small. _Tiny. A speck in the cosmos, bleeding out on the hardwood floors as he dragged himself toward the door. The orphanage smelled like blood and smoke, but outside was much worse. The air was smoke. The ground was blood. Jeremy was pain._

“Help me,” He rasped.

A hand was shaking him violently and he jostled from the memory.

“-present, Jeremy!” Ryan’s voice called through the smoky fog, “You’re alright! You need to stay with me!”

Jeremy shook his head, rubbing at his temples. The pain in his thigh faded. The smoke cleared. The smell of blood though was still lingering. Jeremy realized it was from the blood-soaked bandages on his wrist. That was bleeding more than it should be, wasn’t it?

“Jeremy? Are you with me?” Ryan called, shaking him a bit again.

“Y-Yeah, yes, I-I’m here,” Jeremy rasped, “S-Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Ryan dismissed, “I’m sorry. This is my fault. All this mess is because of me. You wouldn’t be suffering like this if I had just left you alone. I-I’m sorry!”

“Shut up about that,” Jeremy grumbled, “It’s not your fault. This could’ve happened anyway. That’s what happens when you bury trauma. It comes back because it needs to be resolved. So shut up already.”

He leaned back out the window to fire more at the cars behind them. He felt so tired and weak suddenly. Hopefully this would be over soon.

~

Once they’d about shaken the army following them, Matt led them to the docks and specifically to a warehouse. After he opened the door, they drove inside and he closed it again. Before they could do much more than step out of their car, they were surrounded by at least a dozen armed and masked individuals.

“Easy, easy!” Matt spoke up, quickly stepping between them and the unknown people, “H- _they’re_ friends!”

“You bring outsiders,” one of them growled, “We do not let in outsiders.”

“Yes, we do, Cast,” Matt argued, “Stand down, you have no authority.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows went up in surprise. Matt wasn’t usually very aggressive or confrontational. Not like this anyway. The growly one, Cast apparently, stood aside with an annoyed sound.

“I do not think Leena will be happy with this,” they grumbled as Matt led Jeremy and Ryan, “You are asking for trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Matt muttered dismissively.

They stepped on an old, rickety looking elevator and a grate was closed in front of them. It did not seem very stable as they jerked downward a bit before the ride smoothed out somewhat. 

“You gonna tell us what the fuck is going on??” Jeremy hissed at Matt.

“If I did, I wouldn’t get to see your shocked expression when you find out,” Matt snorted.

Jeremy sighed heavily. He was too tired for this. After a century, the elevator stopped and the grate opened again. They stepped into a sort of basement looking corridor to a large metal door that clunked and slid open at their approach. On the other side was not at all what Jeremy had begun to expect. His eyes widened and he stared out over the expansive open area, filled with buildings and crawling with people.

“Welcome to Below Los Santos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Secret Undercity is the best plot twist. @1stworldmutant if you wanna fight about it.


	21. Chapter 21

Jeremy blinked heavily. 

“A city,” he grunted.

“Yes,” Matt confirmed.

“A city under a city.”

“Yes.”

“A city under a city under another city.”

“Yes.”

“A city under a city under a city under a city.”

“Uh. Yes?”

Jeremy fainted.

~

“-leave!” Matt snapped, “Causing problems is all you’ve done!”

Jeremy frowned a bit as started regaining consciousness. 

“You think I don’t know that?!” Ryan hissed, “Of course, I fucking know that! But we’re here now, I have to just keep moving! I can’t just leave my mess behind!”

_What the fuck?_

“Jeremy’s safe here,” Matt grumbled, “He doesn’t need you. You should leave and take your problems somewhere else.”

Jeremy started to say something, but Ryan beat him to it.

“Why, so you can finally get your chance?” He sneered.

_Wait, what?_

“Watch it,” Matt growled, “I actually care about him. This isn’t about that.”

“Really?” Ryan snorted, “Because it certainly sounds like it is.”

“Some of us are capable of care outside of romantic connection, Vagabond,” Matt muttered tightly, “Just because all _you_ care about is what he’ll give you, doesn’t mean everyone feels that way.”

“That was rude,” Jeremy grumbled as he sat up.

Ryan and Matt were at his sides in an instant. 

“What happened?” He grunted, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Your wounds were much more serious than we realized,” Ryan explained, taking his hand and pointing out the bandages on his wrist, “You lost a lot of blood. Combined with the shock of seeing the city, you fainted.”

“Awesome,” Jeremy murmured, “Where’s my shirt?” 

Matt retrieved a shirt that wasn’t his.

“It was covered in blood,” he grunted as he handed over the clean shirt, “This should fit well enough though.”

It did, though it was a bit roomier than Jeremy was used to. 

“Did you get the thing copied?” He asked, looking up at them.

“No, we’ve been here with you,” Matt admitted, shrugging.

“How long was I out?” Jeremy questioned.

“About an hour,” Ryan answered.

“We need to get that recording copied,” Jeremy huffed, moving to the edge of the bed, “Where are my shoes?”

“You should take it easy,” Ryan protested, putting his hand on Jeremy’s chest to stop him, “We’ll get it copied and sent out. You should rest.”

“I already did that,” Jeremy countered, pushing his hand away, “The longer we delay, the more people are hurt, the more HIT and Rooster Inc. have time to prepare against us.”

He stood, spotting his shoes where Matt had gotten the shirt and quickly pulled them on. 

“Besides, I feel fine,” he added, “You put blood back in me, right? So I’m good now.”

“Yes, you had a transfusion,” Matt confirmed, “But that doesn’t mean you’re in top shape. Vagabond’s right, you need rest.”

“Nah,” Jeremy dismissed, “Let’s go.”

Before he could leave though, someone opened the door to the room. Several someones came through. The one in the lead was a tired looking woman with graying brown hair tied into a bun. She was obviously some sort of leader, exuding an air of authority. 

“Good evening, madam mayor,” Matt muttered.

“Don’t sass me, Matthew,” the woman scolded, “Tell me why you’ve brought two top-siders here and tried to hide it from me.”

“I wasn’t hiding it,” Matt argued, “Jeremy had an emergency. We _had_ to come here first.”

“And you couldn’t send for me?” The mayor countered.

“I was worried about my friend,” Matt grumbled.

“So anyone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?” Jeremy spoke up, “Because I’m so fucking confused right now.”

The mayor looked at him, gave him a once over, and looked back at Matt.

“Really, Matthew?” She snorted, “This foul-mouth is the fabled Jeremy?”

Jeremy frowned, looking over at Matt who was blushing. Something clicked and Jeremy felt a squeeze inside him. _Ah, shit. Matt has a crush on me._ Guilt sliced through Jeremy’s guts. How long had he been ignoring Matt while the guy had a crush on him? _Why the hell does he have a crush on me when I’m such an asshole??_ He blushed a bit, trying to ignore this new discovery.

“Cursing doesn’t change what a good guy he is,” Matt mumbled defensively.

“Still in the dark,” Jeremy reminded them.

“As am I,” the mayor pointed out, “Why are they here, Matthew?”

“Jeremy was in trouble,” Matt explained, “He’s running from some bad, influential people and he needed somewhere to hide. They’re a package deal now, so I had to bring Vagabond too.”

He gestured at Ryan who was looking annoyed. The mayor looked at him and her eyes widened.

“You brought a royal here?!” She demanded, “Have you cooked your mind in the sunlight?!”

Matt frowned, looking at Ryan who’d stiffened at the mayor’s declaration.

_“Is_ he a royal?” He grunted, “I mean, I knew he was a silver spoon.”

“That’s James Haywood,” the mayor accused, pointing at Ryan, “He’s the only son of the Haywood Family!”

“Huh, interesting,” Matt murmured, “Why are you running from HIT then? Aren’t they your people?”

“I don’t have people, remember?” Ryan sneered.

He was tensed up, looking like he would lash out at any second. Jeremy stepped closer to him, taking his hand. Ryan glanced down at him, relaxing a bit.

“It’s okay, I don’t think they’ll turn you in,” Jeremy assured.

Ryan shifted uncomfortably.

“You tell them,” he mumbled, squeezing his hand.

“Okay, can do,” Jeremy agreed, smiling, “You’ll be okay?”

Ryan nodded and Jeremy looked at Matt and the mayor.

“So the thing is, Ryan’s family is a bunch of assholes,” he explained, “They tried to make him hurt people, but he wouldn’t do that. He wanted to expose them, so they took his voice. He escaped and now they want him back, but we’re going to expose the crimes of HIT and Rooster Inc. to stop them.”

He looked back over at Ryan.

“Did that about sum it up?” He questioned.

Ryan smiled softly and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s about it,” he agreed.

“Well, in that case,” the mayor piped up, drawing their attention, “Welcome to Below Los Santos. We happen to like fighting corruption around here. We’re a bit of a rebellion even.”

“Oh my god!” Jeremy exclaimed, “Are you guys the Undercity Rebels?! Undercity! Of course, they’re actually under the city!”

He grabbed Matt’s hoodie.

“Where is Red Hawk?!” He demanded, shaking Matt, “Is he alive?!”

“You _do_ remember.”

Jeremy’s head whipped around at the sound of the man’s voice. He shoved through the other people to grab the man.

_ Whack! _

Red staggered from Jeremy’s right hook.

“Whoa, kid, what an arm you grew!” He laughed.

Jeremy grabbed him in a tight hug. 

“You asshole!” He cried, burying his face in Red’s chest.

“Yep,” Red agreed, putting his arms around him, “Did ya miss me?”

“No!” Jeremy lied.

“What the fuck is happening?” Ryan grunted.

Jeremy pulled back, but not far enough to break his hold on Red. 

“Th-This is Red,” he introduced, “He saved me from...from M...from when I lost my leg.”

“You saved yourself, kid,” Red argued, ruffling his hair, “But he did stay with me a bit while he recovered. Then the rebels got him to a safe place.”

_Define “safe”._

“This asshole didn’t fucking tell me they were doing it until I was at an orphanage,” Jeremy grumbled, “Didn’t even say goodbye. A month we lived together and you just fucked off.”

“You know this explains now why you wanted to meet some random kid,” the mayor spoke up, “You could’ve just told us, Captain.”

“I wanted to see if he remembered,” Red admitted, shrugging, “Wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d repressed all of it. Didn’t want to trigger anything if he had.”

He patted Jeremy’s head gently, smiling softly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, kid,” he murmured, “I knew you’d be alright. What’d I say? You’re strong.”

Jeremy’s face crumpled and he buried his face in Red’s chest. Red was the closest thing he’d had to a dad. He was a rough, rude guy, but he’d been supportive to some degree. Encouraging even. Before he up and abandoned Jeremy, leaving him weak and vulnerable and terrified and so alone. That was when Jeremy decided he needed to never rely on anyone ever again. 

But it hadn’t turned out like that, had it? He was relying on a million different people. He pushed away from Red, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Anyway, we have a job to do,” he grunted, turning to the mayor, “We have evidence to finally expose one of the worst of HIT and Rooster Inc’s crimes. It’s full on rebellion shit, so I assume you’re on board?”

“You might be a decent son-in-law after all,” the mayor snorted.

Jeremy squinted at her in confusion.

“He has a boyfriend who isn’t me, mom,” Matt spoke up, again pink in the face.

_Ah._ That made sense, Jeremy supposed.

“I believe in you, Matty,” the mayor insisted, ruffling his hair, “I’m sure you’ll best your rival.”

“I’m literally standing right here,” Ryan grumbled.

Jeremy snorted, suddenly bursting into delirious giggles. Oh, he definitely needed rest. He was losing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it really a Mayle fic if Jeremy doesn’t faint?


	22. Chapter 22

The mayor looked over the recording of the Masston file with a face that got progressively paler. Jeremy thought she might puke by the end of it. 

“I knew about this, but...” she muttered, “I suppose I didn’t grasp the full gravity of the situation. This is horrifying.”

“Yes, it was,” Jeremy agreed.

The mayor looked up at him with searching eyes. 

“You picked this so you would have a witness,” she guessed.

“Yes,” Jeremy confirmed, “Someone needed to be willing to speak. The file means nothing if there isn’t a voice to go with it. A real, physical person, not just a name to convince people of the truth.”

“Then you’re prepared to speak about it?” She pressed, raising an eyebrow.

“Prepared seems like a strong word,” Jeremy snorted, “But yes, I’m ready. There’s more at stake here than just my past trauma haunting me. I’m ready to do what I can to help prevent more pain.”

The mayor gave him a proud sort of smile, one of admiration before turning to Matt beside her.

“I take back my criticism,” she announced, “He has my full blessing and I’m excited to see the cute grandbabies you make.”

“Mom, oh my god,” Matt grumbled, blushing, “You’re embarrassing me.”

Ryan shifted next to Jeremy, very unsubtly putting his arm around his waist and pulling him closer. Jeremy grinned up at Ryan’s pinched up, annoyed and blushing face. He wasn’t one for public displays of affection, but clearly felt the need to show off that Jeremy was his. _What a dork._ Ryan cleared his throat, embarrassed by Jeremy’s amused staring at him.

“Anyway, is it possible to send our copies up or do we have to leave?” Jeremy grunted, steering the conversation back.

“We can get it top-side,” the mayor assured him, “Leave that you us.“

“Then I guess I better record a video,” Jeremy murmured, suddenly glad to be pressed to Ryan’s side.

“I have a better idea,” Matt spoke up, “If we can do it, I think we should broadcast you.”

Jeremy raised his eyebrows at him.

“What, why?” He questioned, “Wouldn’t that be risky?”

“Yes, it would be,” Matt admitted, “But a video, well, a video can be edited, possibly it could be destroyed before we get it out there. Could be that no one even notices. But imagine if you’re suddenly on screens across the country, suddenly thousands of people are forced to see you. They’re way more likely to listen, to be interested by you. Hell, if you pick the right opening, you could catch the attention of even the least interested person.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Ryan cut in, “Its too risky. We’ll be found immediately and Jeremy might be interrupted anyway.”

“That’s even better,” Matt insisted, “Silencing someone speaks louder than we ever could. If Jeremy’s in the middle of a broadcast talking about the horrible crimes of HIT and Rooster Inc. and then suddenly gets cut off, then they might as well be outright confirming he was telling the truth.”

“And if he gets hurt in the process?!” Ryan demanded, face twisting, “Weren’t you _just_ guilting me over the pain I’ve caused?!”

“He’s not going to get hurt,” Red, who was sitting a bit away from them, spoke up, “We’re not going to let that happen. Kid, you’re about to be the face of the resistance to tyranny and the rebellion will have your back.”

“As Captain Hawk says, we will protect you,” the mayor agreed, “You’re putting a lot on the line for this, so you can trust us to back you up.”

Ryan made an annoyed huffing sort of sound. Jeremy wasn’t concerned about trust or getting hurt. He was concerned about having a flashback on air. What if he got partway through and suddenly collapsed? What if he froze up the second they told him to talk? What if he started crying and whimpering and couldn’t say anything? What if he ruined everything? Ryan’s arm tightened around him and Jeremy looked up at him.

“Obviously you’re going to say yes,” he muttered bitterly, “So I will be beside you the whole time.“

Jeremy relaxed a bit, his stomach unclenching. _If Ryan’s there, he can stop it if I start to drift back._ Jeremy puffed out a shaky sigh.

“Okay, let’s do it,” he agreed.

“Excellent,” Matt spoke up, “Now we just need a plan to get inside a broadcasting station.”

“That’ll be my expertise,” Ryan snorted, “Which one are you considering?”

“Station four, of course,” Matt answered, grinning.

“So we take the news owned by HIT, then?” Jeremy laughed.

“Where better to hear the news on HIT?” Matt pointed out.

“I know the place,” Ryan added, “So I can get us in easy enough. And HIT broadcasts all over the world. The reach will be far greater than most stations.”

He pulled his arm back from Jeremy to pull up a blueprint on his phone, already using his calculating eyes.

“Then it’s settled,” the mayor announced, “We take the station, we broadcast Mr. Dooley’s story, and then retreat as the message sinks in.”

“Uh, you guys know the station is in mid-ground, right?” Jeremy suddenly wondered.

The mayor and Red glanced at each other with small frowns. 

“We haven’t been able to get to mid-ground in several years,” Red grunted, “Our tech gives us away.”

He raised his left hand, wiggling the three stiff robotic fingers. It seemed that it was certainly true that the lower you went, the worse the tech got. With unregistered tech that bad, they would get noticed immediately. Even if they did get into mid-ground, the citizens would realize something was wrong. 

“The station is right in the middle of mid-ground too,” Matt muttered, “We can’t avoid being seen. I completely forgot.”

“We can cover to some degree,” the mayor murmured, “But several of our best fighters have noticeable tech. And we need the best.”

Ryan sighed heavily and his head dropped into his hands.

“I...can help,” he admitted reluctantly, “I have spare tech in a few hidden stashes that I can repurpose.”

Jeremy squeezed his knee. He knew it was difficult for him to trust people and he probably didn’t want to give up his hidden stashes. But they needed help to retrieve the tech, so Ryan was going to have to reveal where they were. 

“Tell us where to go,” the mayor suggested, “We’ll retrieve what you need.”

“I need a list of the fighters you want to go to the station,” Ryan instructed, dropping his hands, “Or rather, I need a list of their visible mods. Then I can tell you where to get the supplies.”

“Matt, how about you escort Mr. Dooley to our home?” The mayor offered, “He looks like he needs more rest. I’ll bring Mr. Haywood after he’s finished with the preparations.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed at the woman and his jaw clenched. Jeremy was too tired to grasp why he was mad, just that he was. He squeezed his knee again and Ryan looked at him, face clearing.

“She’s right, you need rest,” he murmured, “I’ll be along as soon as I can, alright?”

“Okay,” Jeremy mumbled.

Ryan kissed him gently and pulled him into a tight hug.

“You’re gonna be okay,” he whispered.

“Of course,” Jeremy breathed, “Because you’ll be with me. Partners in crime.”

Ryan’s hold on him tightened.

“Partners in crime,” he agreed under his breath.

Then he finally let go, pulling back. Jeremy smiled at him and kissed his cheek before leaving with Matt. They were quiet as they left the building. Jeremy couldn’t help but look up at the city in awe. Past the glow of the artificial lights, darkness lingered as though it was lying in wait. Waiting for the lights to stop protecting them so it could swoop in and swallow them up. Jeremy wobbled a bit, rubbing at his temple where a headache was forming. He definitely did need more rest.

“Are you alright?” Matt asked, squeezing his shoulder.

“I’m okay,” Jeremy assured him, “Just tired. Oh and massively freaking out.”

“Sounds about right,” Matt snorted, “I’m sorry I sprang this on you like I did. I didn’t realize it was going to make you faint.”

“I think it was mostly the blood loss,” Jeremy dismissed, shrugging, “Really, you saved my life. We didn’t have a lot of options on places to go, so thank you.”

“Vagabond would’ve saved you,” Matt argued, “He would’ve figured something out. He’s a genius.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Matt grunted, “Just because I don’t like him, doesn’t mean I can’t compliment him.”

“I’m just surprised,” Jeremy laughed, “You don’t compliment many people.”

“Maybe you just don’t hear it,” Matt snorted.

Jeremy felt the slice of guilt again. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “I haven’t been a very good friend.”

“Everyone’s got stuff, Jeremy,” Matt countered, “You have your own life. I wouldn’t expect you to revolve it around me, just like I don’t revolve mine around you.”

“Fair enough,” Jeremy relented.

“But listen, you _are_ a good friend,” Matt added, “You were always around when I asked for it and even times I didn’t, but needed someone to give a shit. Yes, lately you’ve been distracted, but I know you’d have dropped anything to help me. I don’t have to be in trouble to see that you care about me, Jer.”

Jeremy flashed him a watery smile.

“Thank you, Matt,” he mumbled, “That means a lot to me.”

“Good, no more sappy stuff,” Matt grumbled, “Here.”

He stopped and gestured up a walkway to a large house. They went up it while Jeremy stared at what he could only assume was a mansion by the size of it. _Huh, so Ryan’s ivory tower royalty and Matt’s troglodyte royalty. Good to know, I guess._ There were even servants in the house. Jeremy was led to a spare room and given some pajamas that were unsurprisingly too long. He settled into the frankly scandalously comfortable bed and easily drifted toward sleep. 

But someone was watching him. He jerked awake, eyes darting around as he sat up. There was no one in the room. He settled back down and closed his eyes. No, someone was definitely watching him. More than one someone. Eight someones. Fifteen eyes. _Staring. Pleading. Crying._ Jeremy reached out, helpless.

_Help me! Please! Get me out of here!_

His leg throbbed and he choked on smoke. He had to help them. They were small. They needed help. They couldn’t walk on their own. He had to help them! But he was being dragged away. 

“No!” He screamed, jerking awake again.

“Jeremy?” Ryan’s voice called out.

Jeremy fumbled for him in the dark. Ryan put his arms around him, pulling him close.

“H-Have to help,” Jeremy sobbed, clutching at him desperately, “C-Can’t walk. N-Need t-to help.”

“Shh, baby, you’re okay,” Ryan soothed, rubbing his back, “You’re gonna help them. It’s gonna be okay.”

Jeremy wished the fifteen eyes in his head told him the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ✨Friendship is Magic✨
> 
> also a tad sad at the end.


	23. Chapter 23

_ This is awkward.  _

Jeremy, Ryan, Matt, and the mayor were all quietly eating their food, avoiding eye contact. This was largely due to the fact Jeremy had woke up the whole house with his screaming and crying. But Jeremy also sensed tension between Ryan and the mayor. Something had happened after Jeremy left. He couldn’t exactly ask about it though. 

Jeremy stabbed at his eggs. The four of them were distracted from their not talking by a ruckus coming from the front door. Jeremy tensed and shifted, turning his body more firmly between Ryan and the door. It promptly burst open and if Jeremy had a gun, Red would’ve been dead. Instead he just got Jeremy’s fork in his hand. Luckily he’d brought his hand up to block his face or else it would’ve speared through his cheek or eye. Jeremy leapt up and rushed over in alarm.

“Oh, god, are you okay?!” He demanded, grabbing Red’s wrist, “Oh fuck, it’s like fully in!”

“Strong arm, what’d I say?” Red laughed, yanking the fork out, “I got you somethin’, kid.”

“You’re bleeding,” Jeremy pointed out, gripping his hand tightly.

“Yeah, what else is new?” Red snorted, waving him off, “Look, I got this for you.”

He produced a marble from his jacket and Jeremy took it with the hand not death-gripping Red’s wound. Inside the clear marble was a little flame. Jeremy’s eyes welled up with tears.

When Red had gotten him to safety and after Jeremy was able to speak again, he’d asked if Jeremy had anything important he left behind. Jeremy had described his only possession: a marble with a little flame inside. It wasn’t special or really all that important. He’d just found it on the ground and kept it because it looked interesting and he’d never owned anything before. 

Jeremy let go of Red’s hand to launch into the man. Red caught him around the waist as Jeremy threw his arms around his neck.

“You like it then?” Red chuckled.

“You remembered!” Jeremy cried.

“‘Course I did,” Red scoffed, “My skull’s like a steel trap.”

It meant nothing, but everything. So many years it had been and Red cared enough to remember something so inane. He really was the closest thing to a dad Jeremy could’ve had. He almost felt bad for repressing his memories for so many years. Sure, he’d (sort of) successfully functioned by ignoring his trauma, but he’d also lost good memories of someone who had helped him when he was in need. Someone who was the closest he’d had to family.

He pulled back, swiping at his eyes roughly before tucking the marble away for safe-keeping. 

“Let’s bandage your hand,” he mumbled, “There’s first aid in the kitchen, right?”

“Yes, there is, I know where,” Red confirmed as Jeremy retook his hand.

They went to the kitchen and the cook or maid or whoever, cleared out at Red’s dismissal. They retrieved a first aid kit and sat at the small table. Jeremy started cleaning the wound.

“Listen, kid, I’m sorry,” Red muttered, “I shouldn’t have just left. I’m shit at goodbyes. And I’m really a coward at heart.”

Jeremy snorted, rolling his eyes as he swiped antibiotic on the wound. He stuck on the adhesive bandage and turned to close the first aid kit when Red suddenly gripped his hand. His dark blue eyes were a stormy ocean, troubled with regrets.

“Jeremy, I’m sorry for leaving you like that,” he whispered, “I have many things I wish I could take back, but none more than that. I’m sorry.”

Jeremy was speechless, utterly shocked to hear the man apologize. He’d assumed Red would just make excuses if he brought it up, but not only had he brought it up himself, he didn’t really make excuses. 

“Um, thank you,” Jeremy mumbled.

“We should get back out there before Leena and your boyfriend have another row,” Red grunted.

“So they _did_ fight after I left,” Jeremy guessed.

“Oh yes, they had quite the screaming match,” Red snorted, “I probably shouldn’t talk to you about it.”

“It was about me,” Jeremy murmured, heart sinking, “Wasn’t it?”

“Not exactly,” Red dismissed, “More about the fact they don’t trust or like each other. Though of course you did come up. So did little Matty. Leena’s very protective of him, obviously. Had to remind ‘em both that you two were capable of handling yourselves.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Jeremy muttered, shrugging, “But Ryan doesn’t need to be reminded. Might seem like it, but he’s very aware of how capable I am. He’s more likely just anticipating an attack, not necessarily assuming I need protection.”

“Seems like a good kid,” Red commented, chuckling a bit, “For a royal anyway. Still got a bit of that haughty rich boy attitude about him.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty great,” Jeremy laughed, “Really, all that confidence is a good thing.”

“I guess he has a reason to be so cocky,” Red relented, “He’s apparently a brilliant tech. And that hand he made you’s pretty special, isn’t it?”

He raised an eyebrow with a knowing little smile at Jeremy who shrugged.

“What do you expect from the only heir to HIT?” He countered.

“Fair enough,” Red chuckled.

Jeremy tried not to clench the hand in question as they returned to an even tenser dining room. He was suddenly worried he was overusing it. HIT probably already knew, considering his break-in, but he still needed to keep it in the down low. HIT couldn’t be the only people after it. 

He was too tired to be that worried though. He’d worry later. After he took a nap. He was exhausted from all the screaming he’d done last night. He’d fallen asleep and screamed himself awake three times. It was really no wonder the four of them were so tense and exhausted.

~

Over the course of the next several days, tensions were high, but they struggled through. Jeremy stopped trying to sleep at night, so he wouldn’t wake the others with his nightmares. Instead he slept during the day while the others planned things he’d be no help with anyway. While they slept, he rehearsed what he was going to say. 

By the time the day came, he felt a bit less anxious. He managed to get through his rehearsed speech without starting a flashback or throwing up. He could do it. Still, he was anxious. Terrified that he’d go through all this and have nothing to show at the end. Ryan held his hand the whole way to the station and inside it. 

Jeremy knew he must’ve looked pretty bad, all pale and shaky as he was shuffled into place. He hoped it wouldn’t ruin the message. He sat at the news desk, gripping the edge of it to steady himself. Ryan took his face in his hands and kissed him firmly.

“You can do this,” he assured him, “You’re stronger than they’ll ever be.“

Jeremy puffed out some deep breaths and nodded as he felt himself stabilize to some degree.

“I’ll be right here,” Ryan added, “Last line of defense.”

“It’s not defense I need,” Jeremy muttered.

“I know,” Ryan answered, “That was for their benefit.”

He jerked his chin at Matt and Red who were at the camera controls. Then he leaned in to speak in Jeremy’s ear.

“I will pull you back,” he whispered, “If you start to drift, I will be here.”

Jeremy gripped his jacket tightly as they hugged.

“I didn’t even have to tell you,” he sniffled.

“A good partner knows his partner in crime,” Ryan murmured, squeezing him close, “That’s why we’re the best.”

Jeremy’s smile into Ryan’s shoulder was a bit watery. 

“None better,” he agreed.

He pushed back and rubbed his tears away before kissing Ryan again. 

“Alright, I’m ready,” he announced, turning forward.

Ryan took up position nearby as Matt and Red got the equipment ready. Then Matt held up his hand for the countdown.

_ 5... _

Jeremy swallowed thickly.

_ 4... _

He straightened up a bit.

_ 3... _

He laid his arms on the desk.

_ 2... _

He tried not to think of ticking bombs.

_ 1... _

He took a deep breath as Matt pointed at him.

_ Go! _

“Hello, there,” Jeremy began, “My name is Jeremy Dooley and 22 years ago I was murdered by HIT and Rooster Inc.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And probably nothing bad happens. :D


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: removal of limb

** Masston, San Andreas, 22 years ago  **

Jeremy tossed the marble up and down in his hand, swinging his leg where he was perched on the window sill. He didn’t sleep good. Sister Lily said it was because he had ghosts. He didn’t really know what that meant. 

He saw something flash outside as the dormitory door opened. He watched cars moving around outside as Sister Mary came over to scold him for not being in bed.

“Jeremy, you should be in bed,” Sister Mary scolded.

“Sister Mary, why were there so many people awake outside?” Jeremy wondered.

“They must not be able to sleep either,” Sister Mary murmured, “Come on, don’t worry about...”

She trailed off, looking out the window. Jeremy looked up at her worried face with wide eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing, Jeremy,” Sister Mary assured him, shaking her head, “You should get to bed now.”

He hopped off the window sill and started for his bunk at her gesturing. 

“I can’t sleep,” Jeremy mumbled.

“Well, how would you know if you don’t try?” Sister Mary chided.

“I did,” Jeremy grumbled.

Before he could crawl into bed, the dormitory door opened again. 

“Sister Mary, come quickly, please,” Sister Anna hissed from the doorway.

“Go to bed, Jeremy,” Sister Mary instructed before hurrying to the door.

Jeremy sat, tucking his marble in his pillowcase. He started to lay down again, but the sisters’ voices sounded worried so now he was worried too. He hesitated a moment before slipping back out of bed and tip-toeing to the door. 

“-doing here?” Sister Sera was whispering.

“I don’t know,” Sister Lily muttered, “But...I saw it with my own eyes. They’re surrounding the town.”

“What do we do?” Sister Leah asked, “Where is Father Thomas?”

“He’s gone,” Sister Lily answered, “We need to get the children to safety on our own.”

“Who even are they?” Sister Anna questioned, “Why are they doing this?”

“I think I saw a-“ Sister Lily began, halting suddenly, “Jeremy, are you out of bed again?”

Jeremy sheepishly poked his head out of the partly open door.

“What’s going on?” He mumbled.

The ten gathered sisters glanced at each other.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Sister Lily assured him, “But we’re all going to go into the cellar now.”

“Okay,” Jeremy answered, “Everyone?”

“Yes, everyone,” Sister Lily answered, “Sisters, please wake the other children.”

Jeremy pushed open the door, trying to be helpful and the other sisters hurried past him. 

“Jeremy, how much did you hear?” Sister Lily asked, “You’re not in trouble, just tell the truth.”

“Um, I heard you say Father Thomas is gone,” Jeremy replied, “Is he coming back?”

“No, child, he is not,” Sister Lily murmured.

As Jeremy started to ask another question, she suddenly shuddered and straightened up, turning stiffly. Jeremy saw many of the sisters and some of the kids shudder as well from the corner of his eye. The sisters all stumbled forward several steps while the shaking kids collapsed. 

“Wh-What is-?” Jeremy stammered, nervously.

_Bang!_

Jeremy jumped in surprise as Sister Mary’s head burst with a loud noise. Sister Anna screamed shrilly, eyes sparking and whirling while Jeremy stared in shock. The kids were screaming now too and Sister Anna clawed at her face. 

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Jeremy stumbled back as more heads burst. It smelled like metal and electricity. Everything was red as the sisters and the kids cried and screamed and attacked each other. Jeremy clutched at his pajama shirt, terrified and needing something to hold onto. He turned, to run maybe or just to look away and a hand gripped his leg. He wobbled, crying out as Sister Lily’s hand squeezed his thigh tightly.

“S-Sister Lily, p-please!” He shrieked, “Y-You’re hurting me!”

He tried to stumble away, toward the nearest exit, but fell. Sister Lily’s grip only got tighter and he screamed in pain as her robotic hand crushed his leg.

“L-Leave me alone!” He cried, trying to crawl away.

He tried to kick her away, but his foot did nothing where it landed on her shoulder. The other foot he couldn’t even move and he sobbed from the pain pulsing up it as her fingers dug in. His hands scrambled on the hardwood as he tried desperately to get away from her. Then her other hand joined the first and she seemed to focus on crushing it.

“No, p-please!” He sobbed.

_ Crack! _

He screamed shrilly as his leg snapped, white hot pain searing through him. His hands clawed against the floor, trying to pull away. Then she pulled. Jeremy could feel only pain in his thigh, but suddenly his clawing hands were moving him. He was dragging himself across the floor as he sobbed. He didn’t look behind him, he wasn’t sure he could’ve if he’d tried. All he could do was crawl toward the door. 

It was already partway open. _Inviting._ He had to get to it, that’s all he could think. It was so far and he was so small, but he had to get outside. He was weak, exhausted, full of pain as he dragged himself through the doorway. 

He could barely see, eyes watering even worse from the smoke he was choking on. The hard ground below him was unforgiving as he crawled as far as he could before he was unable to move. His hands clawed at the dirt, arms too weak to pull himself any further. All he could smell was metal and smoke. All he could hear was screaming. 

“Help me,” he rasped.

A figure crouched down in front of him.

“You still alive, kid?” The man grunted, voice deep and gruff, “You’re a mess, but you’re gonna make it. If you can get yourself up.”

“I can’t!” Jeremy sobbed.

“Then die in the mud,” the man answered, “Sorry, but if you’re too weak, you’re better off this way.”

Jeremy cried out in despair and agony.

“You can get up, kid,” the man assured him, “You’re strong. You just have to decide to do it.”

Jeremy socked him in the mouth, but his weak little fist did no damage.

“Haha, what’d I say?” The man laughed, “Strong. Now quit yer pity and get to your feet. Er, foot.”

Jeremy wobbly pushed up off the ground, arms shaking as he tried to get his legs under him. His thigh’s pain screamed from his mouth and he choked on smoke. _Get up. Get up. Get up._ He shook fiercely, sobbing as he stood, supported by only one leg. He wobbled forward, but the man caught him before he could fall.

“Now, always remember, kid, you saved yourself,” he grunted, “Don’t you ever forget that your own strength got you out of here.”

Jeremy wobbled and slumped as his vision faded. 

**Los Santos, San Andreas, 22 years later**

“When I woke up, I was someone else,” Jeremy whispered, staring down at his clenched fists, “I was no longer the same Jeremy Dooley. My life was taken, destroyed that night and I didn’t even suffer the worst.”

He puffed out a shaky breath and looked back into the camera.

“Worse yet is that there are still many suffering at the hands of HIT and Rooster Inc.,” he spoke louder, firmer, “I have seen with my own eyes the suffering they have brought. I give you all the truth, so that together we can stop these tyrants. They think they own the police, the government, and the world, but they can never own the people.”

His jaw tightened and he glared into the lens.

“Because we are not property,” he growled.

Matt cut the camera and Jeremy squeezed his eyes closed against stinging tears. 

“Jeremy, are you okay?” Ryan called from the door.

“I’m fine,” Jeremy muttered, scrubbing at tears.

“Good, we have a bit of a problem,” Ryan announced, “There’s police completely surrounding the building.”

_Well, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Nuns are scary” was what my lovely patron saint, Caliope had to say about this chapter.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicidal implications/thoughts

Jeremy wanted to know when he was going to catch a fucking break. He hoped it would be soon, because he was fucking tired. He needed a nap. A fifty-year-long nap. 

“Why haven’t they breached yet?” Red wondered as the four of them exited the broadcast room.

“They think we’re using the employees as hostages,” Ryan muttered as they moved down the hallway, “They’re probably waiting for their hostage negotiator as we speak. I thought the institute would send people, but I don’t see anyone other than the police.”

Jeremy peeked at the tablet in Ryan’s hands where he was tapped into the building’s security. The outside cameras were showing a whole pork farm.

“That is a lot of pigs,” Jeremy murmured, “Can we fight that many?”

“Probably not,” Ryan admitted, “We’ll have to take the roof exit, I think. At least it looks like they don’t have any helicopters out yet.”

They met up with the rest of the rebels and the group made their way to the roof. 

“Hawk,” Ryan grunted, “The crossbow.”

Red unhooked a cross bow from his back and aimed it across the street at another building. The “bolt” loaded in the thing looked to be a grappling hook. Red fired it and their end was hooked into the roof of the station. 

“You all remember the plan?” Ryan questioned the rebels.

They nodded and lined up to zip line across the two roofs. About four of the twelve rebels got to the other side before the cops noticed what was happening and started firing at them. Jeremy, Ryan, Matt, and Red did their best to cover fire for the remaining eight. Five more got across before the helicopter showed up. 

A rifle was suddenly put in Jeremy’s hands and he didn’t hesitate to fire into the copter’s cockpit. He held them at bay long enough for the remaining three rebels to get across before ran out of bullets and needed to reload. Unfortunately this was also when the police finally breached the door to the roof. He, Matt, Red, and Ryan ducked behind an air conditioning unit for cover.

“Ry?” Jeremy prompted as he tried to quickly reload the rifle.

“F-Fire escape,” Ryan grunted.

Jeremy looked over as he weakly pointed to the edge of the roof. Ryan was pale and shaky, hand pressed to his side.

“You were hit,” Jeremy realized, pushing Ryan’s jacket aside.

Red was blooming under Ryan’s hand. 

“Fire escape,” he rasped, “T-Two floors down. G-Get out of here.”

“Don’t you start that self-sacrificing bullshit,” Jeremy growled, “I’m taking you with us, if I have to carry you myself.”

“I need...m-medical attention,” Ryan huffed.

“Which you’ll get as soon as we get out of here,” Jeremy insisted.

He shoved Ryan’s hand away to press his own against it. Ryan jerked and screamed in pain as the hand seared the wound closed.

“Wh-Why?!” He cried.

“To stop the bleeding,” Jeremy grumbled, “Let’s move.”

He ignored the burns on his own wrist as he helped Ryan get into a crouch and shuffle across to the edge of the roof, Matt and Red right behind them. The helicopter started to follow them, so Matt took over helping Ryan to the fire escape and Jeremy aimed the rifle. They were slightly closer now and Jeremy hit the pilot in the shoulder. They suddenly veered off course and Jeremy had two seconds to shout a warning to the others and think one thought as the helicopter careened toward the building.

_I fucked up._

The copter crashed into the roof, thankfully on the other side, but the explosion rocked the building, knocking them all over as a wave of heat blasted through them. Jeremy went fuzzy as his head smacked into the roof. _Smoke. Blood. Pain._ His sight was hazy as someone crouched down next to him. Past and present smudged together, his eyes unfocused and the image before him blurry. He was so tired. So utterly exhausted. He just wanted to sleep.

“I don’t want to...get up...any more...” he whispered, “Just...leave me.”

The crouching someone picked him up, hooking an arm under his knees and his shoulders. He could barely see the sky through his dizzy vision as he was carried. He was just so tired. He just wanted to sleep. He was bounced as his eyes started to close and a fresh wave of pain pulsed through his head.

“Stay awake, kid!” The familiar gruff voice barked, “You could die if you sleep, you need to stay awake!”

“Death is sleeping forever,” Jeremy mumbled.

And he was so very tired. 

~

Jeremy woke up with a migraine, feeling like he might vomit if there was anything in him to do so. His wrists were strapped down and things were connected to his hands and face. He blinked blearily, trying to focus on his surroundings. He was on a hospital bed. 

He lifted up, trying to find someone to talk to and found Ryan sleeping in a chair next to the bed. 

“R-Ryan?” He rasped.

Ryan jerked awake, winced badly, and sat forward.

“You’re awake!” He cried, gripping his hand. 

“Shh,” Jeremy hissed, “Head hurts.”

“S-Sorry,” Ryan whispered, “Let me call the nurse.”

He hit the nurse call button and a flurry of nurses came to annoy the shit out of Jeremy by poking and prodding him.

“Why‘m I strapped down?” He grumbled.

“Hawk said you were suicidal,” Ryan answered quietly, “They wanted to make sure you wouldn’t hurt yourself if you woke up when no one was around.”

I’m sorry, what?

“I’m not,” Jeremy grunted, “Can I please be freed?”

They did allow him to be freed and after poking and prodding some more, they gave him a tray of food and a pain killer. Ryan was anxiously watching him eat and Jeremy wondered why.

“You’re staring,” he pointed out.

“Sorry,” Ryan murmured, looking down at his own hands.

“This because Red said I want to die?” Jeremy muttered.

Ryan was quiet a moment.

“Do you?” He whispered.

“I said I didn’t,” Jeremy countered.

“In front of the medical staff,” Ryan argued.

“I don’t want to die,” Jeremy assured him, “I don’t know why he thought that.”

“He said you asked him to leave you to die,” Ryan explained.

“I got hit in the head pretty hard,” Jeremy snorted, “Not exactly the best source of information.”

Ryan sighed heavily.

“How are _you_ though?” Jeremy questioned.

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Ryan murmured, “Cauterizing my wound bought me enough time for us to escape. Though they had to cut me open again to get the bullet out and repair the damage to my organs.”

“That sucks,” Jeremy grunted. 

“Could’ve been much worse,” Ryan dismissed, shrugging, “Could’ve been recovering in a prison...I’m more grateful for that than I am for not bleeding out honestly. I do not imagine I’d do well in prison.”

“Probably not,” Jeremy agreed, “Since you’re such a delicate young man.”

Ryan gave him a dry look. Jeremy grinned weakly. They were safe. They were okay. _Mostly._ Jeremy poked at the food on the tray. Red had carried him to safety again. He’d had to rely on the man again, even after swearing he’d never rely on anyone again. 

Jeremy crumpled, dropping his spoon and covering his face. Ryan’s arms were around him immediately, pulling him close to his chest. 

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he soothed, kissing his temple, “I’m so sorry.“

Jeremy choked on sobs. How was he meant to do anything? He was so small. So utterly tiny. A drop of water in an ocean. A grain of sand on a beach. A speck in the endless universe.

_ Nothing. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy is tired of your shit.
> 
> If you couldn’t tell, my depression has been hitting me hard lately, especially with physical symptoms. I think it’s something to do with my meds. But anyway, because of that, Jeremy’s real fucked up with depression/anxiety in this story. Sorry about that.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicidal implications/thoughts, suicide mention

Red came to visit Jeremy in the hospital not to long after he woke, looking a bit frazzled. Ryan excused himself so they could talk and Red took his chair by the bed.

“Hey, kid, how you holdin’ up?” He muttered.

“I’m fine,” Jeremy murmured, “Would’ve been better if I didn’t wake up restrained.”

Red winced and sat forward a bit and squeezed Jeremy’s forearm.

“You really freaked me out,” he admitted, “You were talking like you wanted to die.”

“I smacked my head,” Jeremy pointed out, “I was out of it. I don’t want to die.”

Red relaxed somewhat at that, puffing out a relieved sigh. 

“Had me really worried, kid,” he confessed quietly, “Between the injury and that, I thought I was gonna lose you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jeremy answered, “Probably.”

Probably not, actually, but Jeremy wasn’t gonna tell any of them that. Jeremy ignored his problems and tried to make everyone else ignore them too.

“You will be,” Red assured him, “You’re strong. Despite how many times you’ve gotten knocked down, you keep getting back up. You’re an impressive and persistent little shit. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Jeremy murmured.

He didn’t feel all that worthy of that praise. 

“What’s next for the rebellion?” He questioned, trying to change the subject.

“We’re focused on rescuing people,” Red answered, “We’ve got hundreds of new recruits coordinating across the country to find and infiltrate HIT and Rooster Inc. facilities.”

“Hundreds, wow,” Jeremy muttered, surprised.

“All thanks to you,” Red chuckled, “Your broadcast really affected people.”

“The truth has a tendency to do that,” Jeremy snorted.

“No, kid, _you_ affected them,” Red dismissed, “The truth was too ugly for them. They’d have ignored it. I’m sure there were plenty of people who _did_ pretend not to notice certain suspicious behavior. But you made them see. You forced them to look. You’re a damn hero, kid, don’t sell yourself short.”

Jeremy didn’t feel like a hero. He felt tired. 

“Whatever you say, Red,” he murmured, “How’s Matt?”

“Great, last I checked,” Red answered, “He’s gone back top-side. I don’t blame him, I think he was always a sunshine kid. He got out of here as soon as he could when he hit 18.”

_Oh._ Jeremy had sort of hoped he’d be around to visit.

“How long was I out?” He wondered.

“Almost three days,” Red admitted, “We were starting to get a bit worried, honestly.”

“That explains why I’m starving still,” Jeremy grumbled.

“I’ll see if I can bring you something,” Red offered, “But you’ll be out of here as soon as they’re sure you’re stable.”

“Great.”

They were silent a moment and Jeremy wanted to go to sleep. He felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He knew it was time to ask something he was dreading.

“Did...anyone else make it out of Masston?” He whispered, “I...kept telling myself it was better if I didn’t know, but...”

_But what if there’s someone else suffering like me?_

“Yes, there were several more survivors,” Red spoke quietly, “But...the few we could save, many didn’t make it in transport and after the others recovered...well, as far as we know, you are the last one. The last free one anyway. It is possible that Rooster Inc. is keeping some survivors somewhere and chose to omit that in the HIT record. Rooster Inc. and HIT actually keep many secrets from one another.”

The others couldn’t live with it. No wonder he took Jeremy’s suicidal implications so seriously.

“I guess that makes sense,” Jeremy reasoned, trying to push past the realization he was possibly the lone survivor, “If you’re that horrible, do you really have friends you care to stay loyal to?”

“Yeah, probably not,” Red snorted.

They fell silent again and Jeremy realized Red was lingering. He was still worried about him probably. Probably still worried about the suicide business. Probably didn’t know what to say. Red hadn’t been that great with words as Jeremy recalled. He was better than twenty years ago, but he still seemed to struggle. Jeremy wasn’t great at it either. 

“Leena said she’d come to visit later,” Red suddenly recalled, “When she heard you were awake. She’s busy as all hell, but she’ll make time I’m sure. Speaking of busy, I should go. You probably need more rest anyway.”

He stood and hugged Jeremy tightly before leaving. Ryan returned and Jeremy reached for him, trying to drag him into bed with him. After some shifting and moving the bed down flat, they were cuddled up to each other, Jeremy tucked under Ryan’s chin.

“Tell me whatever you need,” Ryan whispered.

“You,” Jeremy breathed, “I just need you.”

Ryan held him closer, pressing his nose into Jeremy’s hair and kissing his scalp.

“You’ll always have me, partner,” he murmured.

Jeremy buried his face in Ryan’s chest and relaxed against him. He felt better in Ryan’s arms. A bit calmer. Sort of protected too. Like Ryan could shield him from bad things. At least some of them anyway.

~

Jeremy was in the hospital another day before he was allowed to go to the mayor’s house. For a couple days he did little but have nightmares while Ryan worked. He was pretty sure Ryan had told him what he was up to, but he hadn’t been paying very close attention. In fairness to him, he didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t give a fuck about much at that point, actually. 

He was exhausted. And he was starting to see what Sister Lily had meant by him having ghosts making it hard to sleep. When people die around you, whether or not you believe in actual ghosts, they become a ghost to _you._ They’re there with you, in spirit. So he was very haunted. More than ever before now that he’d confirmed he was in fact (mostly likely) the lone survivor of Masston. This and the Hallway of Horrors weighed heavily on his mind in those days he spent mostly alone in the mayor’s house.

In a way, it was almost a good thing that something bad happened. It let him get out of the graveyard that was his head. Though he never saw the incident as good in any way, it did jostle him back into the present somewhat. He was staring blankly at a wall when Ryan accosted him quite suddenly, grabbing his shoulders tightly. Jeremy flinched, startled and scared for a moment before he pulled out of his own head.

“Jeremy!” Ryan huffed, breathless for some reason, “Bragg! They caught Bragg!”

Jeremy stood up, gripping at Ryan’s jacket.

“HIT, they captured Matt?!” He demanded.

Ryan nodded, panting heavily and clutching his side, face twisted up in pain.

“Th-The mayor and Hawk, they-“ he started.

The door flew open to reveal the two in question.

“Haywood, what have you done?!” The mayor hissed.

“He deserves to know!” Ryan snapped.

He winced, gripping at Jeremy for support.

“I-I think I tore stitches,” he wheezed. 

“You fucking idiot, you ran over here, didn’t you?” Jeremy grumbled, “Let’s get you to the hospital. And you two better fill me the fuck in before I roundhouse your stupid faces.”

He put his arm around Ryan to help him outside.

“They tried to stop me,” Ryan grunted, “Had to run to get here first.”

“Idiot, you could’ve just lied then walked over here,” Jeremy snorted.

“D-Didn’t wanna lie,” Ryan mumbled, “Regardless of intent, it has a tendency to make people distrustful.” 

Jeremy supposed that was fair. 

“N-Not to mention that would make me a-a hypocrite,” Ryan added.

“Also a fair point,” Jeremy grumbled, “Follow up: stop getting yourself hurt, asshole!”

Ryan whined at being scolded and Jeremy shook his head. He really was never going to catch that break.


	27. Chapter 27

Jeremy sighed heavily as he looked over the blueprint of the building they were supposedly keeping Matt in. Not one of their facilities, actually it looked like a hotel. It seemed very simple to get in, from a thief’s perspective, but Jeremy wondered if that was the point. He had a feeling he was being baited. 

They were on the third floor, plenty low enough for Jeremy to climb and the hotel had balconies, making it even easier to do so. This, added to the fact that they’d allowed a rebel to tail them to discover the location and the room, seemed to indicate this was a trap. Not a great one, but the fact remained that they had to get Matt back, so they were going to end up in the trap anyway.

“They’re expecting us to climb to the balcony,” Jeremy muttered, “Otherwise they’d have gone much higher up.”

“Yes, I believe so,” Ryan agreed.

“So we go through the door then,” Red suggested.

“I think we should go through the wall, actually,” Ryan answered, “They won’t be anticipating that and we’d have better cover this way.”

As Red, the mayor, and Ryan started talking about plans, Jeremy’s mind drifted. _They’re baiting me, specifically. They picked a location I could get into on my own, without Ryan. Why? What do they want me for?_ He rubbed his thumb over the fingertips of the nano machine hand. Did they figure it out? He wouldn’t be surprised, he used the damn thing so much. Felt like it was barely a secret any more.

“Jeremy can,” Ryan announced, jarring Jeremy from his thoughts.

“Absolutely not,” Red adamantly dismissed.

“Jeremy can what?” Jeremy grunted.

“Get into the building through the employee entrance,” Ryan explained, “Like you did before.”

“He’s not going,” Red insisted.

Jeremy scowled at him.

“You are _not_ my father,” he muttered bitterly, “And even if you _were,_ I’m a fucking adult. You don’t control what I do and don’t do.”

“You can’t go,” the mayor spoke up, “We need you alive and free. You’re the face of the rebellion. If you get captured, they’ll use you to try to stop us.”

“Face of the rebellion,” Jeremy repeated, “I didn’t think you were serious about that.”

Red pulled a phone out and tapped on it before turning it to face Jeremy. A news reporter was on it, with a picture of Jeremy beside their head.

“An update on the rebellion leader Jeremy Dooley,” they began, “Though he has not been located since the hijacking of station four, his image has found its way across the nation.”

Videos of murals of Jeremy all over buildings and sidewalks played on the screen. A couple dozen at least, some more detailed, some cartoonish, most with the words “we are not property” scrawled with it. Some even had the names of all the nuns and the kids who didn’t make it out of the orphanage and names he didn’t recognize but assumed were other Masston victims. The videos shifted to crowds of people chanting the same phrase, breaking down fences, and destroying HIT and Rooster Inc. property, bearing the Undercity Rebels’ name and logo on their clothes and flags. _Riots._ Jeremy had incited riots. The videos disappeared and Jeremy focused back on the reporter’s words.

“Jeremy Dooley is now considered the most dangerous and most wanted terrorist in the United States,” they were saying, “The police are urging anyone with information on his whereabouts or the whereabouts of his associates to call their hotline.”

Red pulled the phone back and Jeremy rubbed his temple tiredly. This was not what he’d had in mind when he’d agreed to this.

“We need you free and alive,” the mayor repeated, “You are the face of the rebellion.”

“Is this why you weren’t going to tell me Matt’s in trouble?” Jeremy grumbled.

“Yes, we figured you’d try to insist on going,” Red confirmed.

“Obviously I’m going,” Jeremy snorted, “Matt needs help. If it was me, he’d do the same.”

“They want you to do that,” Red argued, “If you show up, they’ll capture you immediately.”

“They can fucking try,” Jeremy countered defiantly, “I’m helping save my friend. None of this rebellion shit matters if I can’t save people.”

Ryan squeezed his hand. 

“You’ve already saved people, Jeremy,” he assured him, “But you know I’ll be beside you if you go on this mission.”

Jeremy gave him a weak, grateful smile. At least Ryan was always on his side.

~

“Jeremy?” Ryan whispered in the dark bedroom.

“Yes, Ry?” Jeremy responded.

“There’s no way you’ll sit this out, is there?” Ryan asked.

“Nope.”

“I figured,” Ryan murmured.

He sighed, shifting a bit closer.

“If...if there’s a choice,” he spoke carefully, “Me or Bragg being captured, hurt, or killed, I want you to save Bragg.”

Jeremy frowned, squinting in the dark.

“Why?” He grunted.

“Bragg’s innocent,” Ryan muttered, “All of this mess, he never contributed to it, but _I_ did. I’m not saying I’m as guilty as them, but there are certainly parts of this that originate from my actions. Bragg is just a good man caught in a bad situation. So if the choice comes, please pick him.”

“Okay, but only if you promise the same,” Jeremy agreed, “If it’s me or Matt, pick to save Matt. I’m the same as you. I chose this.”

“I agree to your terms,” Ryan assured without hesitance.

He shifted back slightly and they awkwardly shook hands before cuddling back up to each other. 

“I really hope it doesn’t come down to that,” Ryan breathed shakily, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Jeremy murmured into his chest, “This sucks. Everything fucking sucks.”

Ryan chuckled weakly, wiping at his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah it does,” he muttered.

He shifted and tipped Jeremy’s chin up to kiss him. Jeremy was so glad that all through this he had Ryan by his side and even more glad that Ryan had him. Pathetic as he was, he was an assurance that Ryan wouldn’t be alone. He was something comforting, however small. And he was small. _Absolutely tiny._

He gripped at Ryan’s shirt suddenly, pressing hard against him as he deepened the kiss. Ryan immediately pressed back, hips rolling against him and hand running down his side. _Distract me, please. Make me forget._ Ryan twisted, pressing him down and lifted to yank his own shirt off before diving back down. He mouthed at Jeremy’s neck as he tugged his underwear off. Jeremy groaned, trying to hang onto his shoulders as he spread his legs for Ryan.

“Oh god, baby, I need you,” Ryan huffed in his ear as his hips rocked against Jeremy’s, “Feel like it’s been forever. Hang on, I gotta get lube.”

Jeremy whined annoyance as Ryan got up to retrieve lube from his jacket. 

“So impatient,” Ryan snorted as he dug in his pockets.

“It’s been forever, you _just_ said!” Jeremy grumbled.

Ryan laughed as he made his way back over with the lube. He turned on the bedside lamp to see better and Jeremy stuck his tongue out at him. Ryan just laughed again as he got back between Jeremy’s legs. 

“Take it easy,” he ordered, as he poured lube on his fingers, “Let me know if your head starts hurting or anything.”

“Should we do this with your stitches?” Jeremy wondered as he relaxed against the bed.

“I’ll be fine,” Ryan dismissed, “But watch your leg.”

Jeremy held his robotic leg up and to the side to be sure he didn’t rub against Ryan’s stitches. Ryan rubbed his fingers over his asshole before pushing one inside him. Jeremy puffed out a sigh, gripping the sheets in his free hand. Ryan wrapped his other hand around Jeremy’s cock, again showing Jeremy his great multitasking. In fact this position was practically identical to the first time they had sex. 

“Déjà vu,” Ryan chuckled.

“At least my leg is functional this time,” Jeremy joked breathlessly as Ryan worked him open, “And now I know your name.”

“Mm, yeah, now you can call it out while I fuck you stupid,” Ryan mused.

Jeremy blushed even as he rolled his eyes. _What an asshole._ Ryan finished fingering him quickly, clearly in a hurry. Jeremy pulled his legs up and to the sides, getting out of the way as Ryan pushed his underwear and pajama bottoms down. Jeremy swallowed as Ryan pressed inside him.

“Ryan...” he whispered, “I love you.”

Ryan’s eyes stared into his.

“I love you too, Jeremy,” he murmured.

He bent down to kiss Jeremy deeply as his hips rolled against him. He held Jeremy’s bad leg away from him with one hand, pressing it against the bed and gripped the back of Jeremy’s neck with the other. Their foreheads stayed pressed together, even as they couldn’t kiss for needing to breathe. They panted heavily as their bodies rolled together. 

It was so calm, Jeremy felt some part of him find peace for that brief moment of connection. It was all he could’ve asked for in his insane, painful life; just one still, human moment. A sigh of relief in the midst of hyperventilating. 


	28. Chapter 28

Matt’s main rescue team consisted of Jeremy, Ryan, and Red. Ryan was in the getaway vehicle and Red and Jeremy were going in. Getting them into the hotel was nowhere near as difficult as getting in HIT. It was obvious they _wanted_ them to try to get in. But Ryan had anticipated the triggers for their trap. Most notably, they’d disguised themselves, Jeremy had gotten a prosthetic leg so a tech leg wouldn’t show up on any systems, and (after some recon) they decided to get into a floor above Matt instead of the one he was on. Apparently his floor and the one above and below, had been practically completely shut down. 

Jeremy went for the balcony once they finally made it to the room they chose. He slid open the door and started tying his rope to the railing while Red set up in the center of the room. Jeremy winced as he crouched down, rubbing at his thigh. Prosthetics really were much worse than mods. He wasn’t used to the pressure being put on his stump like that. The socket was basically being shoved up into his flesh much harder than usual. This explained why no one with sockets used prosthetics if they could help it. It was also disorienting to have a leg he couldn’t feel. 

He supposed if he’d gone his whole life like this it would be different, but as it stood, he was disorientated and sore. And his head was hurting. He rubbed at his temple, swaying a bit. He was dizzy too. His concussion wasn’t healed, apparently. He sighed heavily.

“Jeremy, are you okay?” Ryan asked gently over the coms. 

“My leg’s sore,” Jeremy admitted, refocusing, “Not used to it.”

“Sorry, they’d have flagged a leg mod,” Ryan lamented.

“It’s fine,” Jeremy dismissed, “Bit of soreness is nothing.”

“Okay, it’s set up,” Red grunted from the room, “Waiting on you, kid.”

“Got it,” Jeremy muttered.

He finished his tie to the railing and tied off his harness. Red switched places with him, squeezing his shoulder as they passed. Jeremy stepped in the center of Red’s explosive circle and rolled his shoulders. _Okay, let’s save my friend._

“I’m ready,” he called, “See you guys on the other side.”

“Going off in three,” Red announced.

Jeremy puffed out a breath.

“Two...one!”

_Boom!_

Jeremy dropped as the floor gave way below him. He blocked his face as the second floor gave way. He grunted as the rope gave way and he dropped through the third floor. His eyes darted around as he yanked the rope to free himself from the line. There were a few guards under the rubble and a few near the room’s door and the balcony door.

“Took you long enough,” Matt called from the direction of the bathroom.

Jeremy ducked down as the guards fired, rolling toward the partition between the living space and the bed. 

“Fire in the hole,” Red warned.

Jeremy yanked his mask on. 

_Clunk!_

A hissing noise filled the room as smoke flooded from the grenade Red had dropped. Jeremy kept his head down as he hurried toward the bathroom. The guards choked on the smoke as Jeremy shoved open the door and moved to Matt’s side. He quickly put the spare mask on Matt’s face and started to look at the restraints. 

“Jeremy? That _is_ you, right?” He huffed, muffled by the mask.

He reached out, patting at Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy noticed now that Matt had no eyes, just two empty sockets. They’d taken his eye mods. 

“Yep, that’s you,” Matt snorted as he squeezed Jeremy’s bicep.

“S-Sorry, yes, it’s me,” Jeremy muttered, refocusing on the restraints.

His wrists and ankles were bound by tech cuffs and he had a collar of sorts on his neck. 

“Uh, the restraints are some form of tech,” Jeremy grunted, “I don’t know...I think they put a shock collar on him.”

“Yes, it’ll zap me continually when I get out of range,” Matt confirmed, “It and the cuffs also have thumbprint scanners.”

He tapped the scanner on the wrist cuffs. 

“Would Church’s thumbprint work for this?” Jeremy wondered, his hand zapping him already.

“Doubtful,” Ryan answered, “He’s been disgraced. They probably wouldn’t trust him with this.”

Jeremy pressed the replication of Church’s thumb to the scanner on the collar. It made an error noise and Matt jerked as it zapped him.

“L-Let’s not test theories!” He huffed, “I-It’s designed to zap any time it or the restraints are tampered with.”

“Then what do we do?!” Jeremy demanded a bit frantically.

“Fuck,” was Ryan’s response.

Not a very reassuring response. 

“Check for a panel,” he instructed, “Quickly.”

Jeremy looked around the collar and found a panel on the side.

“Found one,” he grunted.

“Open it,” Ryan ordered, “And tell me what you see.”

Jeremy slid the thing open. 

“Uhhh.”

“Oh boy,” Ryan muttered, “Looks like the inside of a computer in there, right?”

“Er, yes,” Jeremy confirmed, “Like one of those green pieces.”

Ryan sighed heavily.

“There’s not enough time to explain this and have you disable it,” he murmured.

Jeremy, without thinking, touched the collar and his hand zapped him as it integrated with it. He gripped at his forearm as more shocks fired up his arm. 

“I-I’m-the hand is-“ he sputtered.

“You’re integrating with it?!” Ryan guessed.

“Y-Yes! R-Ryan! I-It hurts!” Jeremy cried.

Matt reached out and gripped at Jeremy’s arm.

“What-What’s happening?!” He demanded.

“T-Turn i-it off!” Jeremy sobbed.

A fresh wave of fire rippled up his arm and he felt it spark off in his brain and fire around like a pinball. He screamed in pain as images of circuitry flashed across his brain. 

_Click._

“It’s off, it’s off!” Matt shouted, “Let go!”

He shoved at Jeremy’s arm and Jeremy’s hand fell away. Jeremy slumped, crying as the pain started to flee his system. He quickly scooped Matt up into his arms, ignoring the pain as it ebbed. 

“I-I can walk,” Matt huffed, “Y-You’re hurt!”

“A-Ankle cuffs,” Jeremy panted as he carried him through the room, “An-And I’m f-fine.”

Except he could barely see through his dizziness and tears. He set Matt down to grab the rope and tie himself onto it. He hauled Matt back up and dropped off the side. Matt let out a surprised shout as they fell, gripping at Jeremy’s shirt. 

“S-Sorry, y-you’re okay,” Jeremy grunted, “I-I got you.”

Gunshots fired off as he lowered to the roof of the van. He twisted to block Matt and yanked the rope free of his harness while their rebel backup traded fire with the HIT and Rooster thugs. Red reached up from beside the van to grab Matt and get him in the van. Jeremy swung down from the roof into the open door and Red slammed it shut behind him. 

“Where are you injured??” Red demanded as Ryan peeled out.

Jeremy couldn’t focus. All he could see was fire, eyes, and death.

“Ghosts,” he whispered, “They...call me.”

“Well, stay here, don’t go to them!” Red cried, grabbing his face, “What do you need?! Just tell me how to fix you!”

“Sleep,” Jeremy breathed, “I...need to... sleep... forever.”

Jeremy faded into darkness at the edge of his vision. 


	29. Chapter 29

Jeremy woke up as he was lifted. 

“Ryan,” he rasped.

“You really gotta stop passing out on missions,” Ryan grunted as he carried him.

“Matt,” Jeremy whispered.

“He’s right behind us,” Ryan assured him, “They’re getting his restraints off.”

“I’m okay,” Jeremy mumbled.

“Yeah, sure you are,” Ryan snorted.

He stopped moving and Jeremy looked around to see they were in the old elevator again. The shutters closed and they started down. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Ryan muttered, “Th-The nano machines hurt you.”

Jeremy looked up at him, gripping at his shoulders. His face was twisted up like he was in pain.

“‘S alright,” Jeremy assured him.

“It’s not!” Ryan cried, eyes suddenly flooding with tears, “A-All of this is not alright! All this-this pain you’re suffering! I-It isn’t alright! I-It’s not okay f-for this to keep happening! Y-You deserve better!”

He pulled Jeremy closer to his chest, burying his face in Jeremy’s shoulder.

“H-How can this be f-fair?!” He sobbed.

Jeremy hugged him around the neck. 

“Don’t think life’s...meant to be fair,” he offered weakly.

“S-Sorry, I-I shouldn’t cry,” Ryan huffed into his shoulder, “I have no right to cry, I-I just-! Y-You sounded s-so-!” 

He choked.

“I-I didn’t know what to do!” He shrieked, voice frantic, “Y-You were crying an-and I just-!”

He choked again, squeezing Jeremy tightly to him. Jeremy squeezed back, though rather weakly. So weakly he wasn’t sure Ryan could feel it.

“I’m tired,” he whispered.

“S-Sorry, you c-can sleep,” Ryan sniffled.

“Don’t let the...ghosts get me,” Jeremy murmured.

“I-I won’t,” Ryan assured him, “I’ll t-take care of y-you.”

Jeremy relaxed against him, drifting back to sleep. _Ryan’s got me._

~

Jeremy didn’t know how long he spent staring at the ceiling while on bed rest. He sat up, reaching for the pain killers and water on the nightstand. He was significantly less tired, but the persistent migraine did not fuck off. Ryan sat up beside him and hurried to help him get the painkillers open and into his mouth. 

“You’re awake,” he guessed.

“Been awake,” Jeremy pointed out as he stood.

“Awake, not conscious,” Ryan muttered as he helped him to the bathroom.

Jeremy supposed he had a point. He could barely remember any of the recovery period. The only thing he knew was Ryan had been there the whole time. Jeremy used the toilet, then the shower and started to feel a bit more like a human being. Getting clothes on helped too. Ryan walked with him down to the kitchen where Jeremy requested stew of the cook. They obliged and Jeremy sat in the dinning room to eat. 

After several spoonfuls, Jeremy was able to think again. He tried to remember what happened. All he could gather from his memories was that they’d gone on a rescue mission to save Matt. He got the distinct feeling they’d succeeded, but couldn’t remember the actual event. Luckily it was confirmed when Matt burst into the dinning room. Jeremy stared at his stew, trying to get his brain to catch up with Matt’s arrival. Matt sat beside him and squeezed his wrist.

“Are you okay?” He questioned gently.

“That’s a pretty fucking stupid question,” Jeremy snorted.

Matt sighed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he muttered, “Are you at least better physically?”

“I guess so,” Jeremy grunted.

“He does have color back in his face,” Ryan offered, “His limbs are moving less weakly too. Plus he’s been walking and moving all on his own.”

Jeremy looked up in confusion to find Matt wearing sunglasses, face turned in Ryan’s general direction. 

“You...haven’t gotten any eyes yet,” Jeremy murmured, “Why not?”

“Below is on lockdown,” Matt answered, “Can’t get up to get my spares. I have to wait for a pair to get built.”

Jeremy turned back to his mostly empty bowl. Suddenly there were eyes everywhere. _Staring. Pleading. Crying._ Sister Anna screamed from his memories. He covered his mouth as his stomach rolled. 

“Hang on,” Ryan grunted.

He disappeared and reappeared with a trash can that Jeremy promptly hurled into. 

“Me having no eyes is triggering you,” Matt guessed.

“No!” Jeremy choked around vomiting, “N-Not your- _hrk!_ ”

“I’ll go,” Matt offered, getting up, “You can just see me when you’re ready.”

Jeremy was too busy throwing up to protest. Ryan rubbed his back, holding the trash can steady for him until he was done. Then he took it away and brought Jeremy some juice. Jeremy drank it then reached for Ryan who scooped him up and sat in the chair. Jeremy buried his face in Ryan’s shoulder and Ryan put his arm around him. 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” he assured him, “And he knows it’s not his either.”

He rubbed Jeremy’s thigh gently. 

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” he whispered, “I was beginning to worry you’d be catatonic forever.”

“How long?” Jeremy rasped.

“Two weeks,” Ryan answered.

Jeremy stiffened, gripping Ryan’s shirt weakly. _Two. Weeks. Two fucking weeks?!_ Ryan rubbed his thigh again and held him closer.

“It’s normal to be out of it because of a concussion,” he soothed, “This is not concerning.”

Though he didn’t sound totally confident in that statement. Jeremy hated the idea of being vulnerable for two weeks. But Ryan had been with him, kept him safe. He relaxed a bit. _Ryan kept me safe._

“Two weeks,” he muttered, “Why have they been on lockdown for two weeks?”

“Low LS is on lockdown as well,” Ryan explained, “After the hotel and the very intense fighting afterwards, the Low LS mayor declared martial law. They cut off all ways out and in, even upward transits. They’re trying to eradicate the rebellion.”

“HIT really does control the government and the police then,” Jeremy murmured.

“Government and police is redundant,” Ryan snorted, “But yes, it would seem so, considering they’ve yet to put out warrants for any of the HIT or Rooster associates involved in that fight.”

Jeremy sighed tiredly. 

“It’s...never going to end, is it?” He mumbled.

Ryan pressed his head against Jeremy’s.

“No...it isn’t,” he admitted quietly.

Jeremy supposed he just had to accept that he would never truly get to rest. 

~

After a couple days of carefully controlled contact with the mayor, Red, and Matt, Jeremy felt well enough to actually show up to a rebellion meeting. He found out that he’d apparently been given the rank of “colonel” whatever that meant and there was an empty chair to the mayor’s right that was reserved for him. Matt sat next to him, but Red was several chairs away. Jeremy recognized a few of the other rebel leaders, but not most of them. 

They seemed ten times more organized than before. Apparently they’d been quite busy while he slept. Or maybe they just hadn’t been showing him how secretly organized they were before. Maybe all these people had just been busy before and now the lockdown had forced them together.

“Colonel Dooley, an honor to meet you, sir!” One of the others greeted Jeremy with a salute as he entered the room.

They were practically vibrating in excitement, their blonde curls bouncing and their green eyes sparkling. They were a bit young to be a rebellion leader, weren’t they? 

“Call me Jeremy,” Jeremy muttered, “What’s your name?”

“Captain Lilith Carton, sir,” they snapped off.

“Please don’t call me sir,” Jeremy murmured, “I’m pretty sure I put less work in than you have.”

He held out his hand and they gripped it.

“I can’t believe you’d say that, s-er, _Jeremy,”_ they huffed, “After all you’ve been through! You’re a hero.”

“Being in pain doesn’t make me a hero,” Jeremy snorted.

“Of course not,” Carton agreed, “It’s what you did despite the pain. Your courage is truly inspiring, sir. Er, Jeremy.”

“That’s...very kind of you,” Jeremy muttered, sighing.

“The Colonel needs to sit now,” Ryan spoke up behind Jeremy, “He’s still recovering.”

Jeremy was extremely grateful.

“Of course, sorry to bother you,” Carton answered, “Thank you for your time.”

Ryan guided Jeremy to his seat, standing behind him with one hand on his shoulder. Jeremy wondered why he didn’t have a title. He’d certainly done more work than Jeremy had. Jeremy would gladly trade spots with him. No one had bothered to ask Jeremy if he wanted to be a colonel, whatever that meant.

“Dooley, good to see you finally,” the person across from him greeted, “General John McNamara, former US Army.”

The man had shoulder-length curly hair and a bit of a scruffy beard. He looked older than Jeremy, but possibly younger than Ryan, Jeremy wasn’t sure. He was handsome with a strong jaw and a scar under one obviously robotic eye. His organic eye was dark and the mismatched pair appraised Jeremy closely, looking like he was searching Jeremy, figuring him out. _God, why is everyone around here so damn attractive?!_

“G-Good to meet you, General,” Jeremy mumbled.

The mayor came in before he could try to sputter anything else. 

“Good morning, folks,” she greeted as she moved around the table, “I’m sure you’ve all noticed our Colonel Dooley is back in shape.”

Jeremy tried not to shift nervously under the stares of the rebel leaders. 

“Just in time,” someone down the table grunted.

_ Goddamnit, now what?  _

“Yes, it would seem he is back in time for our mission,” the mayor agreed, “We need to break up martial law before more people get hurt. We’ve got too many people stuck topside, too many people captured, and we confirmed a few days ago that Low LS has been cut off virtually as well. Absolutely nothing is getting out.”

A murmur rippled through the collected group and Jeremy felt a squeeze in his guts. No connections to the outside world. They were stuck. Trapped in a bubble. It was only a matter of time before their wardens discovered they were hiding below ground as well. After all, if you can’t go up or around, you must go down.


	30. Chapter 30

“Alright, alright, everyone calm down,” the mayor spoke over the din of worried voices, “Let’s not panic yet. We need to focus on solutions, we can still fix this. Captain Hartman, what did you find?”

Jeremy looked to the silver-haired individual the mayor was looking at. They stood, wincing.

“There are five gates on the physical barriers,” they answered, “One on each of the main highways to let in suppliers. The main weaknesses of the walls is the height. Provided we could get to a part not closely patrolled or possibly knock out enough guards, we could get over the wall easily.”

They sat and the mayor turned to someone else who had an eyepatch.

“Captain Parks, what about the transit stations?” She prompted.

They stood.

“Impossible to enter,” they grunted, “They’ve got massive blockades, turrets, and enough personnel to cut down dozens of us before we could even think about reaching them. Every one of them is basically a full-scale military base. There’s no way in.”

They sat as a few mutters passed between the leaders. 

“Captain Hawk, what did you find?” The mayor questioned next.

Red stood.

“As suspected, the airports are being guarded,” he answered, “However, there are several private airfields completely free of guards. I’ve pinpointed a few that house aircraft that could be useful to us.”

He sat. The mayor directed her attention to an older, tired looking person who was missing most of their left arm.

“Lieutenant Colonel Prower, any word?” She asked.

“The missing squad is hunkered down in a bar Vinewood,” they answered, remaining seated, “They got a speakeasy they’re using right now. Marcus knew the owner. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it. Died from blood loss according to the owner. I couldn’t get in to confirm.”

“And the others?” The mayor pressed.

“No idea,” Prower replied, shrugging, “We didn’t get long to talk before the patrol came in. Apparently the patrols are raiding public businesses at random to search for known rebels.”

“Vinewood’s a complete mess,” someone spoke up, “Owners are having to close up shop because they’re getting raided constantly.”

“Vinewood is definitely getting hit the hardest,” someone else agreed, “It’s practically impossible to get anywhere up there.”

_That makes sense,_ Jeremy figured.

“Why the hell is Vinewood so important?” Prower wondered.

“The substation, obviously,” Matt spoke up.

The collected group looked at him. Jeremy nudged his foot to get him to continue.

“The substation for the majority of the LS area is in Vinewood,” he explained, “He that controls the power, controls the people. When LS citizens start fighting, and they will, all the mayor has to do is flicker the lights to remind them who holds the power.”

The group was murmuring again, looking between each other anxiously. 

“Or they’ll do the same to make us comply,” the mayor spoke over them, “We can’t break martial law until we know the substation is in our hands. Vinewood is now our top priority as well.”

“There’s no way we have the manpower for that,” Red spoke up, “We barely have the manpower for these scouting trips. How the hell are we gonna take all of Vinewood?”

“The people,” the mayor grunted, “The citizens of Low LS. This is their fight as much as it’s ours, if not more so.”

“Good luck getting the muddies to trust you,” Matt scoffed, “Low LS won’t just side with the rebellion. They’re more likely to fight us too, we’ll have a three way war on our hands.”

Jeremy nodded his agreement. 

“Then what do you suggest, Ambassador?” The mayor prompted, “How do we avoid that?”

_Ambassador? Is that Matt’s title?_

“Having a common enemy is a good start,” Matt muttered, “But we need to convince them that they need us as much as we need them.”

“So how do we do that?” The mayor pressed.

“I think we have just the man for the job,” Matt answered, turning his head toward Jeremy.

Suddenly a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Jeremy who fought the urge to whimper and shrink away from them. Ryan’s hand on his shoulder squeezed, reminding him he was there. Jeremy’s stomach relaxed slightly. _Ryan’s got me._

“I think our esteemed Colonel Dooley is the perfect voice of reason,” Matt suggested brightly.

Jeremy wished Matt could see the exasperated look he was shooting him.

“What did you have in mind, _Ambassador?”_ He muttered dryly.

Matt grinned. _Oh boy._

~

Jeremy was exhausted by the end of the meeting, ready to go back to the Bragg Estate and face plant on the bed. Unfortunately, he was was stopped by the mayor. 

“Captain Carton, a word?” She also called out as the others started to leave.

She, Jeremy, Carton, Matt, and McNamara stayed behind as the rest exited. Carton immediately came around to stand beside the mayor.

“You were and the General were right; ma’am!” She blurted, bouncing excitedly, “My team and I uncovered the tunnels late last night!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow as she turned a tablet around to face them. There was night-vision footage of a tunnel system. It looked like footage taken by someone walking through them.

“Without any maps though...” Carton lamented, “Traveling them is going to be extremely dangerous and time-consuming. We’ve already found many twists and turns. And obviously we have no idea where they lead for sure.”

Tunnels out of Below Los Santos. A way out. Their bubble just got popped. 

“We are fairly certain we know where a copy of these maps can be located,” McNamara spoke up.

“Unfortunately, this mission is very delicate,” the mayor muttered, “We cannot let everyone know about this.”

“You suspect a leak,” Jeremy guessed.

“They ambushed us,” Matt explained, “They knew the route we were going to travel after you rescued me and when to be there.”

“Since we’re still not being invaded through our elevators,” the mayor reasoned, “We can assume whoever the leak is, is biding their time. They’re waiting for the right moment. These tunnels could be the right moment.”

“So you need a small team you can trust to retrieve the maps,” Jeremy murmured, “You need _me.”_

Wasn’t that always the way?

“You _are_ a thief, are you not?” McNamara prompted.

“Well, I think I was at one point,” Jeremy snorted, “Where am I going?”

“There’s a private collector here,” the mayor began, pulling up a blueprint on a tablet, “By the name of Max Greenwood. This is the layout of his estate.”

She pushed the tablet toward Jeremy.

“You have Captain Carton and her squad at your disposal,” she continued, “Otherwise, not a soul outside this room can know about this. That means you cannot be caught either. Matt assures me that won’t be a problem.”

“Haven’t been caught yet,” Jeremy muttered, looking over the blueprint, “Captain, I need surveillance. Security measures, who goes in and out, employees, Mr. Greenwood’s regular schedule, everything you can find without drawing attention.”

“Understood, s-Jeremy,” Carton answered.

“I also need a list of who he’s fucking and where,” Jeremy added, scrolling over the bedroom, “And I want the actual blueprints if possible.“

“Pardon?” The mayor prompted.

Jeremy lifted the tablet to show the anomalies.

“Third floor doesn’t line up exactly to the others,” he pointed out, “The basement claims enough room for two floors, yet only shows one. The attic shows a ladder down despite the third floor showing a staircase up. These blueprints are fake.”

“Oh...well, I suppose we can see if the archives have any other versions,” the mayor suggested, “Some of the older buildings have physical copies. Matt could show you there, if he’s not too busy, while Captain Carton begins on your surveillance.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Jeremy agreed.

“Perhaps we could wait until after lunch to check the blueprints?” Ryan offered, “Jeremy is still recovering.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jeremy assured him, standing.

“I think we ought to listen to Vagabond,” Matt argued, standing as well, “He knows your condition the best.”

“Really, I’m fine,” Jeremy insisted.

He took a step and immediately regretted his insistence as he started to fall, a wave of dizziness sweeping over him. Ryan caught him and Jeremy gripped his arm tightly, swallowing down bile.

“On second thought, the nurse knows what he’s talking about,” he mumbled.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m gonna assume you were an idiot,” Matt snorted.

“That’s...a fair assumption,” Jeremy admitted.

He let Ryan guide him to the elevator and buried his face in Ryan’s chest as it dropped, making his stomach lurch.

“This is too much,” Ryan muttered, “They’re asking too much.”

“They need my help,” Jeremy groaned miserably.

“Goddamnit, Jeremy!” Ryan snapped, “Don’t you care about yourself?!”

“No.”

Ryan held him closer, burying his nose in Jeremy’s hair.

“Well, _I_ care about you,” he whispered, “So let me care for you. Let me handle deciding what you can do. I’ll make sure you stay safe while you help them.”

Jeremy gripped his shirt weakly. 

“Okay,” he agreed, “You’re the boss now.”

Ryan pulled back and rubbed their noses together.

“I kinda like the sound of that,” he mused, grinning, “Will you call me sir from now on?”

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“You’re gonna have to follow my orders,” Ryan added, kissing along his jaw, “Mm, I like the idea of you being obedient.”

“Ryan,” Jeremy whined as Ryan kissed his neck, “Weren’t you just saying I needed to be careful?”

“That was before you called me boss,” Ryan hummed against his skin, “You got me all hot, thinking about you serving me.”

They were pressed together, arms around each other, and lips mouthing at one another when the elevator door opened. 

“What the fuck,” Red grumbled tiredly from the other side.

Jeremy jerked away from Ryan, blushing crimson. He cleared his throat, swaying a bit.

“H-Hi,” he squeaked.

It was like getting caught by one of the staff at the various orphanages he’d stayed in. Like Red really was his guardian.

“Could you not ravish him in my place of work, Vagabond?” Red grunted as he moved past them.

“I’ll ravish him wherever I please, Hawk,” Ryan sneered, guiding Jeremy off the elevator.

Why was it that Ryan didn’t seem to get along with anyone? Especially around here. People seemed to eyeball him a lot, even the ones who didn’t know who he really was. Maybe he had resting bitch face. Jeremy looked over at him and watched him glare at someone passing by them on Jeremy’s side of the hallway. Make that resting _murder_ face. 


	31. Chapter 31

Jeremy checked his watch and looked back at the mansion. Any second now. One of the self-driving carriages pulled up outside. _Here we go._ The woman named Greta started up the path and Jeremy aimed. As she rang the doorbell, he fired. The grappling hook embedded into the mansion, just above the window he was headed for.

As Greta was let into the place, Jeremy anchored the cable in the office building they were using. He tied himself to the zip line and hopped up onto the window sill. He took a deep breath before stepping out of the window. He zipped across the line, keeping his legs up to avoid the fence. His feet landed on the other window sill.

He looked around the room to be sure no one was inside before focusing on the window. He slid the flat tool between the two panes to flip the latch then dropped from the window sill to reach the bottom of it. He opened the window barely a centimeter to slip the magnetic rod in to press against the sensor. The sensor flickered and Jeremy slowly opened the window. 

Once it was open, he taped the rod to the sensor and got his ass on the window sill, putting his legs through. He unhooked himself from the zip line and pulled the rest of the way into the room, keeping himself on the window sill. He closed the window, glancing around the room again. Still empty of people. Storage seemed unimportant, he supposed. He leapt from the window to a shelf and wobbled as landed. 

He gripped the shelf as a wave of dizziness and nausea crash over him. He covered his mouth and squeezed his eyes tightly closed. He swallowed thickly, trying to keep his dinner down. Now was not the time to throw up. He didn’t have time for this. He slowly crawled across the shelf in the direction of the door. He wiped sweat off his forehead and pulled out the spike tool. He lifted up and puffed out a shaky breath before leaping to the door, jamming the spike between the top of the frame and the wall. 

He held tightly, eyes closed against the spinning in his brain. His head throbbed in protest. He puffed out more shaky breaths, struggling to keep himself up. _It’s okay, we’re okay. Relax._ He lifted his legs, carefully folding himself in half to get his ankles around the spike. He dropped his upper body and twisted for the lock. His head really disliked being upside-down, but the floor was lava. 

He unlocked the door and opened it a crack to hear into the hallway. No footsteps, no clothes rustling, no shifting around. He pushed the door open further and gripped the top of it to pull himself out of the room. He reached back through to grab his spike and jammed it on the other side in the same position. He carefully closed the door.

“How are you doing?” Ryan’s voice suddenly asked in his ear.

Jeremy jumped, almost slipping off the spike.

“Christ!” He hissed, “You scared me!”

“Sorry, you were so quiet I got worried,” Ryan muttered.

“I’m a thief, quiet is the point,” Jeremy murmured.

He leapt from the door to the nearby table. It wobbled under his weight and he quickly jumped to the railing on the landing. He wavered, gripping the railing tightly with one hand and covering his mouth again with the other. _I need to fucking barf._ He dizzily made his way across the railing to the stairs. He was pretty sure the stairs weren’t sensored, they hardly ever were, but slid down the bannister just to be safe. His brain hated that and so did his stomach. He leapt to another table, this one sturdier than the last and promptly yakked directly into the vase on top of it.

“Are you throwing up??” Ryan demanded.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Jeremy rasped. 

“Fucking Christ, Jeremy,” Ryan muttered.

“I actually feel better,” Jeremy mumbled as he moved on toward the basement door, “If that’s any comfort.”

“It’s not,” Ryan grumbled.

Jeremy hesitated outside the kitchen, cautiously peeking into the room. It appeared unoccupied, so he leapt into the room, landing on the floor. As Carton’s surveillance suggested, the kitchen’s sensors were off. The kitchen was apparently a high traffic area when Greta visited. Jeremy hurried to the basement door, not eager to stick around to see that traffic. 

He pulled out his lockpicks and made short work of the lock. Interesting that there was no thumbprint or retinal scanner. Apparently the secret collection was so secret Greenwood didn’t need all that. 

Jeremy closed the door behind him and hurried down the steps. Now he was running blind. There had been no legitimate blueprints and of course they couldn’t get into the basement, so he had no idea what to expect. He flicked on a flashlight to scan the room. There was several freezers, some barrels, a few crates, and an enormous wine rack. What there _wasn’t_ was another set of stairs. Apparently the way down was hidden.

“Jeremy?” Ryan prompted, “Did you get in? I don’t see you.”

“I’m in the basement,” Jeremy grunted, walking through the food storage, “The way into the collection is hidden.”

“What do you see?” Ryan pressed.

“Food, mostly,” Jeremy muttered, “A lot of wine.”

He scanned over the bottles, not sure exactly what he was looking for. 

“Maybe one of the bottles has a hidden switch?” Ryan suggested.

Jeremy rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“I don’t have time to check them all,” he grumbled, “Tell me you have a clue.”

“Well, look for an empty bottle,” Ryan instructed.

_That makes sense._ Jeremy scanned over the bottles again and found one empty toward the center of the rack. He tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge.

“It’s stuck in,” he grunted, “I can’t get it out.”

“Try pushing,” Ryan suggested.

Jeremy pushed and the bottle slid back. Then the rack and the wall behind it swung open away from him. He stepped inside the wall and found a set of stairs. He swallowed nervously as he looked down the dark stairs. Seemed almost ominous, especially since there didn’t seem to be a light switch.

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens,” he muttered as he closed the door, rattling wine bottles.

“You’ve read Lord of the Rings??” Ryan demanded.

“Hasn’t everyone?” Jeremy grunted, starting down the stairs.

“No!” Ryan exclaimed.

“Oh, well, it’s good,” Jeremy murmured as he reached the bottom, “All Tolkien work is classic.”

“It was classic years ago,” Ryan snorted, “Now I think it’s out of style.”

“Hmph.”

Jeremy pushed open another door and felt the wall for a switch. He was grateful when he found one. The room lit up, revealing the expansive collection there. 

“Holy shit,” Jeremy breathed as he stepped in.

There were paintings, sculptures, books, racks of scrolls, vases, a model of Below, and dozens of different types of weapons. He closed the door behind him as he wandered through the room. _Maps, where would maps be?_ He got distracted by an old-fashioned six-shooter mounted on the wall alongside several other guns. He resisted the urge to take it and play with it. 

“Wow, this place is like old times central,” he muttered as he stopped in front of a bookshelf laden with old movies, some of the titles familiar to him, “Why are these movies in boxes? And upside down?”

He pulled one off the shelf and turned it around in his hands.

“What is this?” He wondered, slipping it out of the sleeve, “It’s a black box made of plastic.”

“Are...are you holding a VHS right now?!” Ryan shrieked, sounding utterly shocked.

“Er...oh, yes, it’s on the sleeve, VHS,” Jeremy confirmed, looking over the sleeve, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Hey, I know this one!”

“You’ve watched Indiana Jones but not MacGyver?!” Ryan shouted.

“Indiana Jones is cool!” Jeremy huffed as he returned the VHS to its sleeve, “He’s sort of like a cowboy.”

“Your cowboy obsession is weird,” Ryan muttered, “Will you focus on your mission, please?”

Jeremy grumbled under his breath that cowboys were cool as he returned the movie to the shelf. _Maps, focus on maps._ He spotted a table with what looked like a map on it and hurried over. There was a cabinet of sorts next to it, drawers labeled alphabetically. _What would it be under? Tunnels? Below?_ He checked Below and only found the city layout, no tunnel system. He checked for “tunnels”, but didn’t find anything labeled that.

“I’m not sure what to look for,” he admitted, “What would they be under?”

“Look under Breathway System,” Ryan instructed.

_Right, that’s what Carton called the tunnels._ Jeremy checked and found what he was looking for. He pulled it out gently, carefully rolled it up, and slipped it into the thin tube on his back. _Alright, time to go._ He moved for the door, but found it wouldn’t open. 

“Uh-oh.”

“Oh boy,” Ryan muttered, sighing, “Now what?”

“The door is sealed,” Jeremy murmured, feeling around the edges of it, “No space between it and the frame. And there’s no lock on the door for me to pick.”

He crouched down to check the bottom, which was flush with the floor. The hinges were on the inner part of the door too, so he couldn’t unscrew them. He was stuck. Then he heard a hissing noise.

“I, uh, think it’s rigged like the HIT archive,” he mumbled, “I’m about to suffocate.”

“No, you’re not!” Ryan assured him, “If there’s no lock, that means there’s the possibility that Greenwood would end up accidentally trapped.”

“So he’ll have put an emergency exit out in here,” Jeremy concluded.

He turned around, looking over the room. Hidden doors seemed to be Greenwood’s thing. _But where is it?_ Jeremy ran his hands over the walls, trying to find seams or other oddities. He paused over the movie shelf. Almost all the movies were ones Jeremy recognized. Ones with cowboys. Greenwood was into cowboys the same as Jeremy. Jeremy moved back over to the six-shooter on the wall. He pulled it off the mount.

_ Click. _

The wall swung open and Jeremy stumbled into the fresh air. Or well, as fresh as it could be in an underground tunnel. He gasped in grateful breaths. 

“Jeremy??” Ryan called, “You’re gasping, what happened?? Did you get out??”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, I-I’m out,” Jeremy huffed, pushing the wall door closed behind him, “My head...is fucking spinning.”

“No missions for another fucking week!” Ryan shouted, “You’re going to give me a fucking heart attack!”

“S-Sorry,” Jeremy mumbled.

He leaned heavily on the wall as he stumbled through the tunnel. His head was more than spinning, it was throbbing, beating itself against his skull. He missed when jobs didn’t involve him having a concussion and vomiting everywhere. _Where the hell does this even go?_ He hoped not far, because he was dangerously close to passing out. He missed not doing that too. He missed life being simple.

“Jeremy, I’m sorry for yelling,” Ryan murmured, “I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m not mad, I was just...scared for a minute.”

There was one thing though that made all the other bullshit worth it. 

“I know,” Jeremy assured him, “It’s okay. I would probably be just as upset.”

“I just...love you,” Ryan muttered.

“I love you too, partner.”

Jeremy could picture the soft smile on Ryan’s face. That smile was enough to keep Jeremy running through hell. And the promise that after all this, that smile could be even brighter? Well, that was worth a million near deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am wondering if anyone’s even reading this any more.


	32. Chapter 32

Jeremy woke up when someone knocked on the guest room door. He was too groggy to react properly as Ryan rolled out of bed. He moved over to and opened the door.

“Bragg,” he muttered, “You got my message.”

_ Message? _

“Yeah, is Jeremy alright?” Matt murmured.

“Not really,” Ryan admitted, “He wasn’t ready for that mission.”

“I tried to tell them,” Matt grumbled, “But well, no one asks the blind guy what he can see.”

“Speaking of, the real reason you’re here,” Ryan grunted, “I finished them up. You’re still wearing an implant, yes?”

“Yeah, they left it in,” Matt muttered, “Are you sure about these parts you used?”

“Yes, I made sure they were proper quality,” Ryan confirmed, “Wait there.”

Ryan moved back into the room as Jeremy slowly caught up. Ryan made a pair of eyes for Matt. Meaning he’d been working besides his full time nursing job. Jeremy felt a slice of guilt in his guts. Ryan was probably exhausted having to deal with his shit on top of everything else.

“Alright, hold still,” Ryan muttered, “Should only take a minute.”

They were quiet a moment and Jeremy was too far to hear any tools or zapping from the eyes. 

“There, that should do it,” Ryan announced, “Can you see me?”

“Unfortunately,” Matt snorted.

“Rude,” Ryan grumbled, “How’s your depth perception?”

“Ow!” Matt grunted, “Asshole! That was not a depth perception test!”

“Could’ve been,” Ryan laughed.

“Absolute dickbag,” Matt huffed.

“Whiny,” Ryan muttered, “Well, you’re tracking right. Dilation’s good. You seem to be in order.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Matt murmured, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Ryan dismissed, “I told you, this is purely selfish.”

“Is it?” Matt countered, “Because I’m betting you didn’t even tell him.”

_Me?_ Jeremy frowned as Ryan hummed.

“I didn’t,” he admitted.

“So tell me why,” Matt pressed.

Ryan was quiet a moment.

“You know why,” he finally spoke.

“I do,” Matt confirmed, “But I wanted to hear you say it.”

“Watch it,” Ryan warned lowly, “My patience for your antics wears thin, Bragg.”

“Just admit it, you trust me,” Matt teased, “Bet you’re even starting to like me a bit.”

“Shall I take the eyes back?” Ryan offered coolly.

“If you can catch me,” Matt snorted.

Then Jeremy heard him running off down the hallway.

“Get back here, coward!” Ryan hissed.

Jeremy snorted, struggling to stifle laughter. 

“Don’t you start giggling,” Ryan huffed as he closed the door, “You’re encouraging bad behavior.”

Jeremy burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“Why do you laugh at my misery?” Ryan grumbled as he crawled into bed with Jeremy, “Very rude.”

“Because it’s hilarious!” Jeremy wheezed around his laughter.

Ryan made a whiny noise that just made him laugh harder.

~

Jeremy looked at the map spread out over the table. The Breathway System was extremely extensive and it looked like some of the tunnels led to San Fierro and Las Venturas. 

“Are there undercities there as well?” He wondered, looking up at the others.

“It’s a distinct possibility,” Carton answered.

“Something must have happened to make us close off from the other cities,” Matt muttered, “Some feud perhaps?”

“It’s possible their entrances are blocked off too,” the mayor murmured, “But if we can break through, we could have allies.”

“Or more enemies,” Jeremy snorted, “Just because _your_ city forgot, doesn’t mean theirs did.”

“Regardless, we have other exits,” McNamara pointed out, “Escape tunnels if we need to evacuate.”

“Where would we go after exiting though?” Carton questioned, “Where could we take a whole city of people?”

Jeremy squinted at the map and sat forward.

“Hang on,” he grunted, “Someone pull up a map of San Andreas.”

Carton pulled it up on her tablet and set it beside the map. Jeremy frowned a moment, scrolling over the state as he looked over the map. 

“It is...” he breathed, “This exit...it’s in Masston.”

He tapped on the map and zoomed in on the state map on the tablet.

“It lets out in the orphanage basement,” he explained, “I...”

He paused, rubbing his temple. 

“I know it’s there, the exit,” he mumbled, “I can’t remember why, but I know it’s there.”

He was struggling to breathe. It was smoky in there, wasn’t it?

“Okay, no worries,” Ryan soothed, squeezing his shoulders, “You remember that it’s there, that’s enough. Don’t worry about it.”

Jeremy relaxed a bit. 

“Masston’s completely abandoned now,” the mayor spoke up, “If we need to evacuate, that’s where we should go.”

Jeremy fucking _hated_ that idea. He felt he’d rather die than return to his own personal hell. 

“Captain Carton, you and your team secure Masston,” McNamara ordered, “Make sure we can get through the exit and that we’re safe to evacuate there.”

“Yes, sir!” Carton snapped off, “We’ll begin right away, sir.”

She gave him a salute that he returned, then took her tablet and the map and scampered off.

“Meanwhile, we continue with the radio plan,” the mayor grunted, “As soon as everything’s set up and Colonel Dooley is ready, we’ll get him topside once again.”

“Sounds great,” Jeremy mumbled.

“It’s time for the Colonel to go have dinner now,” Ryan announced, “Will you be joining us, Ambassador?”

“No, I’m having dinner with Captain Hawk to gossip about Jeremy’s condition,” Matt snorted.

“Tell him to fucking visit if he wants to know,” Jeremy grumbled as he stood.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Matt muttered as he followed Jeremy up.

“What? Why?” Jeremy grunted as Ryan guided him to the elevator.

“That’s my fault, actually,” Ryan admitted, “Hawk and I had a pretty bad argument.”

“About?” Jeremy prompted as they stepped on the elevator.

“I don’t think that-“ Ryan started.

“About you, obviously,” Matt interrupted.

Ryan shot him a glare that he ignored.

“What about me?” Jeremy pressed.

Ryan sighed heavily.

“Hawk believes you are suicidal,” he explained, “He attempted to take you to the mental ward of their hospital, but I refused to let him.”

“Ah, this again,” Jeremy muttered, “All the other Masston survivors killed themselves. That’s why he’s so insistent.”

“Still, it’s unfair to treat you this way,” Ryan countered, “You’re not a child and you’re hardly fragile. Mentally anyway. You are still pretty messed up physically. But mentally, we should trust what you say. You said you were not suicidal, so you’re not.”

“That’s very nice,” Jeremy murmured, “But I mean, I could be lying.”

“You’re not,” Ryan insisted, “I can tell when you’re lying.”

“That sounded almost creepy,” Matt pointed out as the elevator doors opened.

“I can tell when you’re lying too,” Ryan snorted as they exited, “My eye can pick up subtle tells that organic ones cannot.”

“Awe, why didn’t you give mine that feature?” Matt huffed.

“Not enough time or resources,” Ryan grumbled, “You just needed to see.”

“So I can help protect your boyfriend?” Matt laughed.

“Obviously,” Ryan muttered, “You are clearly the only one I can trust to have Jeremy’s best interests at heart.”

“I’m standing right here,” Jeremy pointed out.

“Sorry, it’s so hard to see you down there,” Matt deadpanned.

Jeremy socked him in the arm.

“You better fuck off, Bragg!” He growled, “Before my short ass kicks yours!”

“Can you reach it?” Matt countered.

“Fuck youuu!” 

Matt dodged Jeremy’s next swing and ran off laughing.

“You were right,” Jeremy grumbled, “He is a coward.”

Ryan laughed and Jeremy smacked his arm.

“What was that about encouraging bad behavior?” He huffed.

“Yeah, but it’s funny when it happens to _you,”_ Ryan laughed.

“Asshole!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who left kudos and comments yesterday: thank you so much! I was feeling really depressed lately and it really cheered me up. Sometimes I forget what beautiful, wonderful little stars you all are. Thank you so much for sticking around and encouraging me to keep writing! ❤️


	33. Chapter 33

It was another week before Ryan decided Jeremy was well enough to execute the radio mission. He strongly advised another week, but agreed that as long as Jeremy didn’t do anything too rigorous, he should be okay. He looked like he damn well knew Jeremy was going to end up doing something rigorous. But they didn’t have the time. 

Any day now their leak could reveal Below and put the whole rebellion even further underground. Or HIT would figure it out on their own and then no one would be safe. It was also possible the Low LS citizens would rise up before the rebellion got to explain they were on the same side and then be scared into submission when they discovered the substation was under the mayor’s control. If that happened before Jeremy’s speech, then getting the muddies to listen would be impossible. They’d be too worried about the power.

And Jeremy imagined there were a million other things that could happen to squash the rebellion and keep the country under HIT’s thumb. So no matter what was going to happen, time was ticking. He didn’t have another week to recover and as the main actor, he needed to get this show moving. He didn’t exactly have an understudy to pass this off to. Even though he really wished he did. Then maybe he could get a nap in before something else was on meltdown and needed him.

He shifted a bit in his seat and Ryan squeezed his knee. Jeremy took his hand and gave him a grateful smile. Maybe one day they’d get to sit around and reminisce about being freedom fighters. For now though, all they could do was hold on to that hope for the future. Even if it was very unlikely.

“Okay, Colonel Dooley,” Matt announced, “We’re awaiting your word.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes, but sat forward, grasping the mic in front of him.

“Let’s do this,” he muttered.

Matt did his thing and a light blinked on in front of Jeremy, signaling that it was ready to broadcast. Jeremy puffed out a breath and flipped on the mic.

“Good afternoon, Low Los Santos,” he began, “It’s your favorite one-legged freedom fighter, Jeremy Dooley, live right here in our glorious filth.”

He smiled.

“But a little birdie told me that someone thinks it’s _their_ filth,” he mused, “So I’ve come to make sure we set the record straight.”

His hand tightened on the mic.

“See, our esteemed Mayor and his little piggies think they’ve got us by the balls,” he spoke lowly, “They think they’ve got the substation in Vinewood on lockdown. They think they can manipulate us by flickering the lights to make us all behave like good little children. Well, listen up Mayor Somerset.”

He leaned forward.

“We don’t behave here in Los Santos,” he growled, “You aren’t dealing with lambs, you’re dealing with wolves. You’ve underestimated us, Mayor and I promise you, you will regret that decision. This rebellion isn’t gonna let you keep Vinewood and we certainly aren’t gonna let you keep the power in your greedy hands. The mud is free and it will always be.”

He flipped off the mic and took a deep breath. He flipped it back on.

“So here it is, buddy, plain and simple,” he concluded, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

Ryan squeezed his hand and Jeremy relaxed slightly as he flipped the mic back off.

“Wake me up when it’s over,” he muttered, slumping back in his seat.

“Not too much longer, baby,” Ryan assured him, kissing his cheek, “Then you can nap for a week.”

“Promise?” Jeremy snorted.

“Eh, I’d rather not,” Ryan admitted, chuckling a bit nervously.

Jeremy chuckled too, running a hand down his face. What a fucking life they were living. 

“Holy shit!” Matt exclaimed, “Jeremy, get up here!”

Jeremy frowned, but unbuckled the seatbelt and got up to move to the front of the van. He looked out the windshield and his jaw dropped.

“Holy shit,” he breathed.

“Don’t leave me in suspense,” Ryan huffed as he joined them, “Holy shit.”

There were several dozen cars parked along the street they were headed up and hundreds of people flooding the sidewalks. Vinewood was absolutely packed with people all headed for the substation. They were carrying weapons and shields and already taking down the police that tried to stop them. 

“They...must’ve fucking _sprinted_ here as soon as I said Vinewood,” Jeremy muttered.

“Didn’t I say you were the perfect voice of reason?” Matt snorted.

“Told you, kid, you’re a hero,” Red spoke up from where he’d been silently driving, “‘Course they listen to you.”

“The whole blasting your voice all across Los Santos probably helped,” Ryan muttered, “But he’s right. You’re a hero. To them, to the people across the country that joined us, to the people who’ve been saved by the rebellion’s efforts, to all of us.”

He turned to look at Jeremy whose eyes were watering.

“To me,” he whispered, squeezing his hand.

That was the only person who mattered when it came to this, because that was the only person who wasn’t seeing only the “face of the rebellion”. The only person seeing Jeremy for all the bad too.

“To me too,” Matt agreed.

“And me,” Red added, “All you’ve done, the people you’ve saved, you’re a hero.”

Jeremy really didn’t think that was the case, but it did feel good to hear it. The walkie in Matt’s hand crackled.

“Ambassador, we got him,” Prower’s voice came from it, “We’re headed to the meeting point.”

“We’ll see you there,” Matt assured him.

“We have the chopper,” a different voice came over the walkie, “We’re headed for the substation now.”

“Copy that, see you soon,” Matt answered.

“Well, everything’s going great so far,” Jeremy muttered. 

“You jinxed it, kid,” Red grumbled.

“As if something bad wasn’t already going to happen,” Jeremy snorted.

Red pulled the van to the side and parked as they ran out of space to drive. The road was completely blocked by the massive amounts of people attacking the police guarding the substation. The rebels were leading the way and it looked like they’d passed out the spare weapons to the few people not armed. The riot shields they’d brought were working well at protecting the citizens as they pushed forward. 

Once they’d managed to push through the wall of police, the rebels and the citizens flooded the property around the substation. It was barely a fight, a good majority of the cops had even outright surrendered, not bothering to try to fight that many pissed off people. A flare was fired into the air and the four in the van pulled up masks before slipping out.

The helicopter made it to the substation first on account of not needing to wade through a crowd to get there. The four of them hurried to the roof of the station just as a police helicopter showed up. They hopped in and started to pull away. Jeremy was at the gun, firing at the chopper to draw its attention as they left the substation. Now all they had to do was get rid of the other helicopter and go to the meeting point.

~

Jeremy felt a bit queasy as they landed at the meeting point. The other rebels were already there and it looked like the Low LS mayor was in the van. The missing squad had been freed too, it looked like. Everything had gone smoothly, probably because there were a lot of people smarter than Jeremy involved. But it unnerved Jeremy. _Something bad should’ve happened..._

“Colonel,” Prower greeted, saluting.

“Did everyone make it out safe?” Jeremy questioned.

“We have a few minor injuries,” Prower answered, “But nothing serious. Actually, the man’s own bodyguards helped us out.”

He pointed over to where two sharply dressed individuals were speaking with their medic. 

“They said they were tired of standing by as the man trampled their “filth”,” Prower explained.

Jeremy smiled. _Gotta love LS._

“Okay, time to drop this man off and get back to home base,” Matt announced.

They dispersed, most of the other rebels getting in vehicles and leaving while Red and Ryan hauled the major from the van into the helicopter. They “dropped him off” at the substation to let the citizens decide his fate. Jeremy chose not to try to guess what that would end up being. 

He held onto the handle at the open door of the helicopter as they flew over LS. There was fighting all over the city now that the substation was mostly secure. He wished people weren’t dying and getting hurt, but he knew that was entirely too much to ask. You don’t get anywhere with just talking when it comes to corrupt authority. They never listen to a quiet, peaceful voice. You have to raise your voice and make them listen. And actions speak louder than words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And nothing bad happened, the end. :D


	34. Chapter 34

Jeremy didn’t relax again until he and Ryan were in the mayor’s guest bedroom. He sat on the bed, dazed and confused. _The plan...worked? Nothing...bad happened?_ Ryan knelt in front of him to untie his boots for him and Jeremy frowned down at him.

“Are you not telling me something?” He asked.

“What?” Ryan grunted, only glancing up.

“Did something bad happen and you pretended it didn’t?” Jeremy clarified.

Ryan pulled off his left boot, frowning.

“No?” He muttered, looking up, “Why would you think that?”

“Nothing bad happened,” Jeremy pointed out, “Everything went according to plan and it worked.”

Ryan’s frown deepened as he started untying Jeremy’s right boot.

“I don’t und-oh, I see,” he murmured, “You’re so used to something going wrong that you’re confused that it went so well.”

He paused as he pulled off Jeremy’s boot, face twisting.

“That’s...sad,” he muttered.

He looked up, face full of sorrow, guilt, and regret, eyes full of tears.

“Jeremy, I’m so sorry,” he spoke quietly.

He took Jeremy’s hands and pressed his forehead to the backs of them. Jeremy realized he was right. That _was_ sad. But worse, it was painful. It hurt, realizing suddenly that his life was so fucked up, he was confused when everything was okay. Realizing that _he_ was so fucked up. What had he become? Or had he always been this way? 

Ryan sniffled as he stood, wiping his tears. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled as he shrugged off his jacket, “I’m crying when it isn’t my right. I’m being selfish again.”

“Feeling someone else’s pain isn’t selfish,” Jeremy dismissed, standing up to get undressed as well, “The fact that you cry over my pain makes you empathetic. That’s a good thing.”

“Yet it’s no help at all,” Ryan muttered.

Jeremy took his face in both hands and kissed him firmly.

“You are stupid, Ryan Haywood,” he grumbled, “Your empathy helps me. It makes me feel like I’m not alone. And that’s...very difficult for me. I...usually always feel alone.”

Ryan placed his hands over Jeremy’s, tears spilling down his face.

“You will never be alone again, Jeremy,” he assured him.

“Neither will you, partner,” Jeremy returned, smiling warmly.

Ryan put his arms around his waist and pulled him close. 

“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic,” he whispered.

He squeezed Jeremy tighter and Jeremy felt relief. _Ryan’s got me. I’m gonna be okay._

~

Jeremy couldn’t breathe. He was reaching, begging for help. Fifteen eyes accused him of murder. Blood, there was blood everywhere. Hands were grabbing his limbs, pulling, trying to tear them off. He screamed as pain exploded across his thigh.

“Jeremy!” Ryan’s voice called.

Jeremy jerked awake, still screaming and panicked, scrambling away from the hand on his arm.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ryan mumbled, shuffling back and putting his hands up, “Are you awake?”

Jeremy heaved in harsh breaths, eyes darting around. _Right. Dream. Well, nightmare._

“Y-Yes, I’m okay,” he rasped.

“Do you want to get up this time?” Ryan questioned.

Jeremy’s head was spinning. He rubbed at his temples. That pounding didn’t seem like it was just in his head.

“What is that noise?” He grunted.

“Noise?” Ryan muttered.

They fell silent to listen and heard some distant booming sounds.

“Are those...explosions?” Jeremy murmured.

They quickly rolled out of bed and hastened to get dressed. They grabbed their backpacks, Jeremy double-checking that he had his two most important possessions. They met the mayor and Matt in the hallway, in similar states of hurried dressing.

“We need to get you two the hell out of here,” Matt announced, “We need to get to-“

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

“Leena! Leena, open up!” Red shouted, “The General’s hurt!”

They rushed to the door to find Red supporting McNamara who was gripping a heavily bleeding wound in his guts. They got him in and on the couch, pressing a towel over his wound.

“This is it,” he grunted, “I’m done. The rest of you must get to the tunnels.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Jeremy grumbled, crouching by him, “We’re all getting out of here. Let me cauterize your wound.”

“No, sir,” McNamara dismissed, “I’m afraid my lung has been hit. I’ll drown on my own blood before we could make it. There’s only one thing for it.”

He unholstered his gun and pointed it at Jeremy who flinched. He dropped the gun down so it was being offered instead of pointed.

“I’m authorizing you to use my firearm,” he announced weakly, “Get these people to safety, General Dooley.”

Jeremy took the gun and stood. McNamara saluted and Jeremy returned it before turning to the others.

“Out the back door, let’s move,” he ordered, “We need to get to those tunnels.”

“What tunnels?” Red wondered as the group of five hurried out.

“The tunnels that lead to San Fierro, Las Venturas, and Masston,” Jeremy explained, “Ryan, I’m guessing you have a copy of the map?”

“I do,” Ryan confirmed.

“You weren’t supposed to copy it,” Matt pointed out.

“And _you_ weren’t supposed to go topside when we were on lockdown,” Ryan countered.

“You did _what?!”_ The mayor shrieked.

“Damnit, Haywood,” Matt grumbled, “It was one time. I had a friend I needed to check on.”

“Matthew!” The mayor huffed, “You know I was imposing that rule for your safety!”

“Was it Trevor?” Jeremy cut in, “Is he doing alright?”

“It was and he is last I checked,” Matt confirmed, “He said Fredo and Fi were doing alright as well.”

Jeremy puffed out a sigh of relief. The mayor scolded Matt a bit more before they met Carton at the tunnels.

“Ma’am!” She exclaimed, snapping off a salute, “I came as quickly as I could, I figured you’d need a map!”

She actually looked a little beat up. It looked like she didn’t have the benefit of waking up to Jeremy’s screaming before the fight reached her. Jeremy was like an early warning alarm for the mayor’s house. The six started into the tunnels, unfortunately for Jeremy, headed for Masston.

“Hold on,” Red grunted, “We should split up. You two-“

He gestured at Ryan and Jeremy.

“-we cant let them get you both,” he explained, “Either one of you is bad enough, but the face of the rebellion and the greatest tech in the country? HIT would be unstoppable.”

Ryan gripped Jeremy’s hand tightly.

“No,” he denied firmly, “I will not leave Jeremy’s side.”

“I won’t leave him either,” Jeremy agreed, squeezing back.

“Um, actually,” Carton spoke up hesitantly, “I think Captain Hawk is right. They...may or may not have the physical copy of the map.”

She squeezed her bicep nervously.

“I didn’t...manage to grab it,” she added sheepishly.

“Don’t be hard on yourself, kid,” Red dismissed, “It’s crazy out there.”

“If they have the map...” Jeremy muttered.

“Then we have to split up,” Ryan concluded, “In the hopes one of us will make it out, even if the other doesn’t.”

“They want Jeremy the most,” Matt spoke up, “Which means they’ll avoid Masston. They won’t expect him to go there.”

“Then that’s where I have to go,” Jeremy reasoned.

He puffed out a shaky breath and Ryan squeezed his hand tightly.

“If either of us makes it, while the other doesn’t,” he spoke quietly.

“Then we’ll rescue the one who didn’t,” Jeremy agreed, “A good partner never gives up on his partner. And we’re the best, remember?”

Ryan relaxed a bit, smiling.

“You always know what to say,” he chuckled lightly.

They kissed and then hugged, not letting go of each other’s hands. It was determined that Red and Matt would go with Jeremy (Ryan was very insistent for some reason) and the mayor and Carton would go with Ryan. They finally reluctantly unclamped hands and separated. Jeremy felt like his heart was walking away from him as he watched Ryan disappear around a corner. He turned and the three of them moved forward, using Carton’s tablet with her copy of the map to move toward Jeremy’s waking nightmare.

~

Jeremy was exhausted by the time they made it to the Masston exit. It was a large metal door, which surprised him, with a keypad in it. Over the door, in faded red letters was “Masston Orphanage”. Jeremy frowned at the words. The tunnels were created when the orphanage was around? 

That _did_ make sense, how else would the door be in the basement? But wasn’t Below much older? And the tunnels had been forgotten about. Didn’t that imply they were very old? Jeremy’s head spun and he rubbed his palm into his forehead. _Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Not **now** anyway. _He could question it later.

“Four digit code,” Jeremy muttered, squinting at the keypad, “Don’t suppose anyone has ideas?”

“Don’t look at me,” Matt snorted.

Jeremy bent down to look closer. The buttons had letters in them as well, in alphabetical order like most old number pads. _Four numbers or letters._ None of the keys looked particularly worn, so that wasn’t helpful. 

“I’m sorry, Matty,” Red murmured.

_Sorry?_ Jeremy started to stand to look back in confusion.

_Whack! Thump!_

Jeremy looked around in alarm to find Matt on the ground and Red pointing a gun at Jeremy’s face. Jeremy put his hands up.

_Well, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right in your feels.


	35. Chapter 35

“So you’re the leak,” Jeremy guessed.

“I am,” Red confirmed, “I told them where to find you when we went on the rescue mission.”

“And you helped them get down here,” Jeremy added.

“No, they figured that out themselves somehow,” Red dismissed.

“So, got an evil monologue for me?” Jeremy sneered, “Gonna explain why you’re a fucking bastard?”

“No,” Red answered, “We have no time. I need your hand.”

Jeremy frowned.

“What, why?” He grunted.

“You know why,” Red muttered, “Don’t stall for time, kid. Just give it to me and take Matty through that door.”

“I can’t,” Jeremy grumbled, “Even if I wanted to, which I fucking _don’t,_ I don’t know how to do it. You shouldn’t have split us up, Ryan’s the only one who knows how it works!”

“I had to get you away from the little prince,” Red snorted, “That damn pretty boy is determined to put himself between you and everyone else. He never would’ve let me take the hand.”

“That’s why you tried to check me into the mental ward,” Jeremy realized, “You needed me away from him to try to get the hand.”

“But of course the asshole knew you weren’t suicidal,” Red growled.

“Of course,” Jeremy agreed, “Ryan knows me better than anyone.”

“Partners in crime,” Red muttered bitterly.

Jeremy smiled.

“None better,” he murmured.

Red made a frustrated noise.

“I need that hand!” He insisted, “I will cut it off if I have to, so if you’re lying, you should say so!”

“It’s not gonna happen, Red,” Jeremy dismissed, “Shoot me, kill me, and cut it off my corpse, because there’s no way in hell you’re getting it from me while I still stand.”

“Don’t make me do this, kid!” Red pleaded.

“Red, no one’s making you do anything,” Jeremy argued tiredly, “This is a choice you’re making.”

“You don’t understand!” Red protested, “I need that hand! They’re-!”

He stopped, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Just give it to me, please,” he whispered.

It was damn tempting to do so.

“I told you, I can’t,” Jeremy reminded him, “I don’t know how to remove it.”

Red’s eyes squeezed closed.

_ Bang! _

Jeremy gasped as the bullet hit a rib.

“Son of a fuck!” He growled, “Y-You actually shot me!”

He dropped, gripping at the throbbing wound. 

“F-Fucking _Christ,”_ he huffed.

Red came toward him and crouched down, pulling a knife. Jeremy screamed in pain, choking as Red sawed into his wrist. 

“I’m sorry!” He cried, “I-I’m sorry! I d-didn’t want t-to do this! I-I’m sorry.”

“N-Not s-sorry enough, you t-traitor-ous wh-whore!” Jeremy snarled.

He threw a weak hook to Red’s face that turned the man’s head, but didn’t stop him. Jeremy felt like a cliché. As much physical pain as he was in, it was his _heart_ that hurt the most.

“I-I forgave you,” he whispered, before screaming, **_“I forgave you!!”_**

“I-I’m sorry!” Red choked.

_ Click. _

“Not as sorry as you’re going to be,” Matt growled.

_ Whack! _

Red fell to the side and Jeremy pressed his elbow to his bullet wound and gripped his gaping wrist wound with his other hand. He curled on himself and screamed in pain. He was so goddamn tired and full of pain. Pulsing from his wounds, from his head...from his chest. Matt gripped his arm and wrapped some sort of cloth around his wrist. 

“Jeremy, I-I know you’re in pain,” he huffed, “But we need to figure out the code. Please, stay with me.”

“I-I just want t-to sleep!” Jeremy sobbed.

“I-I know, buddy, I know,” Matt murmured thickly, holding his face, “If we get out of this, I’ll make sure you get some real rest.”

Jeremy stared at his robotic eyes. 

“D-Don’t lie to me,” he rasped, “I c-can’t stand any more liars.”

Matt’s face crumpled and his head dropped.

“You’re right,” he muttered, “I...can’t promise that. You’ll always be running and fighting.”

He looked up again, tears running down his face.

“But if you want to live to fight another day,” he added, “We need to figure out that code.”

Jeremy squeezed his eyes closed, pressing his hand against the throbbing in his side. _Code. Four numbers or letters. Orphanage. Basement._ Whoever made the entrance had known the orphanage was there. And Jeremy had somehow known the entrance was there. _How?_ How did he know? Had he seen it? His brain was beating itself against his skull as though attempting to get out of the effort of remembering.

He couldn’t remember any door in the basement, yet he knew it was there. He pictured the basement. Shelves. Full of food. He’d helped carry food to the kitchen. His brain pulsed with pain as he recalled the path from the basement to the kitchen. Up the steps to the outside and around the corner to the kitchen door. 

Wait. Outside? Basements don’t let out outside. No. But _cellars_ do. 

_ “There’s nothing to worry about,” Sister Lily assured him, “But we’re all going to go into the cellar now.” _

“Lily,” Jeremy wheezed, “Try Lily.”

_Beep, beep, beep, beep. Clunk._

Matt crouched down to help Jeremy to his feet. 

“Fucking Christ, you’re heavy,” he grunted as Jeremy leaned heavily on him, “Made of iron.”

“And pain,” Jeremy whispered as they hobbled forward.

“That’s the heaviest material of all,” Matt muttered.

“N-No...shit,” Jeremy huffed as Matt closed the hidden door, “This...hidden door f-fuckery...is h-horse shit.”

“Absolutely,” Matt agreed.

“M-Matt, I’m gonna...p-pass out,” Jeremy grunted.

“I know, I’m gonna lay you down,” Matt murmured, “I gotta leave you to get shit to deal with your wounds. I’ll be back.”

He laid Jeremy against a shelf and Jeremy passed out before he was fully on the ground. He shouted back into consciousness as he felt a new wave of pain in his side.

“I-I know, it sucks,” Matt muttered, “But I gotta do this.”

Jeremy sobbed, wavering in and out consciousness as Matt fucked with his wound, the pain too great to determine what exactly he was doing. The pain subsided somewhat when he was done and then the stitches on his wrist distracted him from his side. He was sure he wasn’t even a human by the end of it. Just a shaking pile of blood, bone, and pain. 

He didn’t know when he fell asleep or how long he slept before Matt was shaking him awake.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” he lamented, “We have to move.”

He helped Jeremy up and through the cellar. Jeremy’s vision was too hazy to see anything properly. Which was probably a good thing, considering where they were. Matt helped him hobble to a vehicle, getting him in the back. Jeremy panicked when he realized he didn’t have his bag, but Matt held it up to quiet him. Then he fastened him in so he was laying on his side. Jeremy fell asleep again. 

Matt woke him again, helped him to a chair, and had him drink something then helped him to a bed. Jeremy wasn’t with it enough to worry over where they were. Matt woke him up a couple more times to drink again. Jeremy didn’t know how many times or how long it was between the incidents. 

When he finally woke up properly, he had to pee pretty badly, so he could only assume he’d been out for many hours. He blinked groggily in the darkness and found himself in a bed, laying next to Matt, who was holding his hand. And there was so much fucking pain. He groaned miserably as he rolled toward the edge of the bed, letting go of Matt’s hand. _Where the hell are we?_

“You’re awake,” Matt grunted, hurrying you get up to help him, “You’ve been out for something like ten hours. Don’t worry, we’re in a cabin of mine. We’re safe here.”

“You have a cabin?” Jeremy muttered as Matt helped him to the bathroom.

“Three actually,” Matt answered, flipping on the light as they passed through the door.

“Fuck!” Jeremy shouted, throwing a hand over his eyes, “Warning, Matt! Give me fucking warning before you blind me!”

“Seeing is overrated,” Matt snorted as he walked him to the toilet, “Can you do this on your own?”

“Yes,” Jeremy assured him, batting him away, “Stop trying to catch a peek.”

“Excuse you,” Matt grumbled as he moved for the door, “I have something called integrity.”

He closed the door behind him and Jeremy leaned over the toilet, bracing his hand on the wall. _Ow. Everything hurts._ He started to recall the events that led him there as he took care of his business and mid-stream was not when he wanted to remember Red’s betrayal. He didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter though, it all came flooding back to him in a rush. 

He finished, flushed, and washed his hands, attempting to push the inevitable breakdown away. He focused on recalling the door instead as he left the bathroom. Matt walked him to a kitchen table and set about making something. 

_The door._ He’d remembered that the door was in the “basement” when they’d been discussing it before. He had somehow managed to remember without remembering that Sister Lily was taking them to safety through the cellar. If they were going to safety, then there had to be another exit. Jeremy rubbed his head as his constant migraine worsened. 22 years ago, Sister Lily had known to go through that door.

“Matt, how long has your mom been mayor?” He questioned.

“Uh, 15 years, I think?” Matt muttered, “I’m 30? So yeah, 15.”

Okay, so it was certainly possible the tunnels were blocked off before her reign. So then the mayor was probably not hiding anything about this. She could be hiding any number of other things. Apparently that’s what people did around Jeremy, hide things. _Lie._ Jeremy’s jaw tightened and his eyes squeezed closed. This was even worse than the abandonment and that had killed him inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard u like angst.


	36. Chapter 36

Jeremy stared at the soup Matt made him, holding the spoon loosely in his hand.

“Ryan,” he mumbled, “How will we find him?”

“My mom knows to come here,” Matt assured him, “Provided they got out, they’ll be here any minute now.”

Jeremy’s grip on the spoon tightened.

“And if they didn’t?” He whispered.

“We’ll know in a couple days,” Matt murmured, “If they don’t show up, we’ll go looking.”

Jeremy was not a huge fan of the wait and see method. Every minute waiting felt like a waste if they were in trouble. But if they left to try to find out, then the others could show up here and they’d have really wasted time and possibly complicated things unnecessarily. Waiting to see was the right decision, but it felt wrong. It felt like he was letting Ryan down but just waiting. 

And of course, the longer he was idle, the harder it was to ignore how he felt. He let go of the spoon, letting it rest against the edge of the bowl. He stood and retreated to the bedroom. He was queasy. The thought of eating made him want to throw up. He laid down, staring at the ceiling. Matt laid next to him, holding his hand again. Jeremy felt cold as his hand told him what there were traces of on Matt’s. 

“I’m...sorry,” Matt whispered.

“Me too,” Jeremy mumbled.

Matt rolled over, facing Jeremy.

“Jeremy, you’re...gonna be okay,” he murmured.

Jeremy rolled to face away from him, pulling his hand from his.

“Whatever helps you sleep, buddy,” he muttered.

Matt sighed and squeezed Jeremy’s shoulder, but didn’t say anything else.

~

Jeremy didn’t sleep very much, though he spent most of his time in bed. He managed to choke down some food at Matt’s insistence, but it was hardly enough. He was still weak from blood loss too. He struggled to maintain his pathetic existence as they waited for the others. 

Matt did his best to help: fixing him food, urging him to shower, changing his bandages. He laid beside him a lot, holding his hand. He didn’t bother trying to comfort him any more though. In fact they spoke very little in general. 

When the others did finally show up, Jeremy barely registered it until Ryan’s face was inches from his.

“Howdy, partner,” he greeted softly. 

Jeremy focused in on his blue eyes and Ryan smiled tiredly at him. Jeremy sat up to hug him tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he mumbled into Ryan’s chest.

“I’m glad you’re alright too,” Ryan returned, holding him close, “I hated not being able to see you.”

He brushed his hand through Jeremy’s hair. 

“Let’s go talk to the others, okay?” He suggested gently.

“Okay,” Jeremy mumbled.

Ryan helped him stand up and weakly shuffle to the kitchen where the others were sitting at the table. Carton and the mayor were there. Jeremy puffed out a relieved sigh. _They all made it._

Ryan sat in his usual chair and Jeremy sat in his lap. The mayor relayed their story of exiting through a bait shop. 

“I happened to know the shop,” Ryan explained, “And I recalled the owner’s name, Marco, which was the code.”

“Interesting,” Matt murmured, “Our code was also a name.”

“Rebels?” Carton offered, “Perhaps they were part of the rebellion.”

“It would make sense, I suppose,” the mayor muttered, “After all, the rebellion is older than Matty. And having friendly faces all over San Andreas would certainly be helpful.”

Jeremy brain pulsed in pain as he realized suddenly that the rebels must’ve come through the orphanage cellar. That’s why they were nearby enough for Red to notice him. But they hadn’t taken anyone back through the tunnels, probably to keep them and by extension Below, a secret. 

“So...Colonel Dooley, Matt said there was an... _incident_ with Captain Hawk,” the mayor spoke carefully.

“He was the leak,” Jeremy mumbled, “He shot me then tried to cut off my hand.”

Ryan stiffened, sitting up straighter to take hold of Jeremy’s arm to look over his wrist bandages.

“Do you know why?” The mayor pressed.

“It’s special tech,” Ryan spoke up, “There’s no other working prototype of this nature. That I know of, anyway. Cutting his hand off hardly would’ve helped though. As far as I know, they still don’t know how to make it work.”

“Was there any reason he gave for this?” The mayor asked, looking hopeful.

“He said he didn’t want to, but _had_ to,” Jeremy answered, “And that he didn’t tell them about Below. That’s all he really said.”

“They must have some hold over him,” Ryan muttered.

“That is like their whole deal,” Carton agreed, “Manipulation.”

“Does it matter?” Jeremy mumbled, “He’s probably dead by now.”

“He’s got a point,” Matt grumbled, “Hawk’s failed his mission and if he really didn’t tell them about Below, no doubt he’s in big trouble for hiding that.”

Jeremy suddenly face planted on the table, no longer able to keep himself up.

“Jeremy, are you okay??” Ryan demanded, pulling him up from the table.

“He’s weak from blood loss and malnourishment,” Matt grunted as he stood, “He hasn’t been eating properly.”

Bile rose in Jeremy’s throat at the thought of eating. Food made him nauseous now. If he looked at, smelled, or thought of food, he felt like he was going to hurl. Ryan held him closely, letting Jeremy rest his head on his shoulder. 

“Just make him broth if you can,” he suggested.

“How about chicken noodle soup?” Matt offered, “You can avoid the solid bits.”

“That works,” Ryan agreed.

After a few minutes, Ryan was feeding Jeremy chicken broth which Jeremy wasn’t struggling to eat nearly as bad as the other stuff Matt gave him. The others discussed plans for getting out of there and finding out what was going on with Below and the rebellion. Jeremy just ignore them. He was too tired to care about anything right that second.

After he was done eating, Ryan carried him to the bed. Jeremy settled on the mattress, but gripped Ryan’s jacket.

“Please,” he whispered, “I feel so alone.”

Ryan got partially undressed and climbed into bed with him, pulling him back against his chest. He was careful to avoid Jeremy’s wounds and pressed his nose in Jeremy’s hair.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he murmured, voice thick with tears, “We never should’ve split up. I knew it was a bad idea.”

“Don’t think it would’ve mattered,” Jeremy muttered.

“Probably not,” Ryan agreed.

“Is it almost over?” Jeremy mumbled.

“It’s...still going to be a bit,” Ryan admitted, “The rebellion is getting there, but there’s still awhile to go. It doesn’t help that HIT and Rooster Inc. are alive and well. Still slithering into every facet of the country.”

_ Slithering. _

“Ryan...do you know that old saying about cutting the head off a snake?” Jeremy murmured.

“Yes?” Ryan offered, “It means to take out the problem at its source.”

“HIT wants me because they think I’m the head,” Jeremy muttered, “But who is _their_ head?”

“My parents,” Ryan answered quietly, “And the board of directors.”

“And if they’re gone, who will order the body of the snake?” Jeremy pressed.

“More importantly, who will _pay_ the body of the snake?” Ryan snorted, “But...it would be a massive ordeal. We need more people and with the rebellion basically locked down right now, there’s no way we could pull it off.”

“Okay, but say you had all the people and resources,” Jeremy prompted.

Ryan hummed thoughtfully.

“We’d probably isolate them,” he muttered, “Take them out separately, when they’re in public and their security is lower. But they’re not going to be in public with the rebellion still active.”

Jeremy smiled weakly.

“Unless they think they’ve cut off _our_ head.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are gonna be fineee.


	37. Chapter 37

“No,” Ryan answered firmly, “Absolutely not.”

“It would be temporary,” Jeremy insisted, “Just long enough to get their head off.”

“No, they’ll kill you,” Ryan dismissed, “That’s the opposite of temporary.”

“They want me alive,” Jeremy argued, “If they didn’t, they’d have been quicker to get rid of me. Besides, killing me only martyrs me. Now, publicly imprisoning me, that’s a great idea. They could show people they have control.”

“I don’t care,” Ryan grumbled, “I’m not letting you risk it. What if they take you and we can’t get the head off? What if three more grow back in its place? What if...I never see you again?”

“What else can we do?” Jeremy muttered bitterly.

“Blow the headquarters out of the sky,” Ryan suggested, “Bomb them when they’re all inside. Messy, not my style, but better than self-sacrifice.”

“What about the other employees?” Jeremy pointed out, “They can’t all be evil. You even have a friend there.”

Ryan hummed, sounding annoyed, but thoughtful.

“Then like the facility,” he finally offered after a quiet moment, “We trigger an emergency. As everyone’s evacuating, we grab the heads and get rid of them.”

“It’ll be way harder to get in this round,” Jeremy pointed out, “Do you think we could do it?”

“We haven’t failed yet,” Ryan murmured.

“And what about Rooster Inc?” Jeremy prompted, “I know HIT is the most important enemy, but cutting that head off doesn’t completely solve the problem.”

“Well, I guess we give them a choice,” Ryan reasoned, “Stop the illegal experiments, release their prisoners, and be a normally evil corporation instead of a truly evil one or die like the institute.”

“Then let’s do it,” Jeremy suggested, “Let’s cut the head off the snake.”

“Will we...kill them?” Ryan asked quietly.

“I guess we don’t have to,” Jeremy reasoned, “But I’m not sure what we would do instead.”

“Send them to prison?” Ryan offered, “If we have them, they can’t control the police, so if we turn them over, the police would be free to arrest them.”

“You expect the pork to be disloyal?” Jeremy snorted, “If we give them their masters, they’ll free them in a heart beat.”

“So I guess we’d have to keep them prisoner,” Ryan muttered.

“Actually, what if we put them in one of their own facilities?” Jeremy suggested, “Their wardens can be the ones that were so mistreated.”

“They’ll kill them,” Ryan pointed out, “Or torture them.”

“Don’t they deserve it?” Jeremy snorted.

“I...of course they do,” Ryan spoke quietly.

“Oh, shit,” Jeremy grunted, “I forgot we were talking about your parents. I’m so sorry. This is probably really difficult for you.”

“It’s just...they’re my only family,” Ryan murmured.

Jeremy took his hand.

“The hell am I, chopped liver?” He grumbled.

Ryan chuckled lightly, snuggling closer.

“Of course not,” he assured him, “Sometimes I forget how lucky I am.”

“We’re both lucky,” Jeremy reminded him, “I...understand though. I...am hoping Red’s still alive, honestly. Some part of me hates that we left him.”

“Family’s family, I guess,” Ryan muttered, sighing, “Maybe...don’t tell me where they end up. I want to be blissfully ignorant.”

“Okay, I can do that,” Jeremy agreed.

“Jeremy, after we cut the head off,” Ryan whispered, “We can disappear. You and me, we’ll just go into some mountains or forests or something.”

Jeremy relaxed against Ryan.

“Please,” he breathed tearfully, “That’s what I want. _Please.”_

“Of course,” Ryan murmured, “You’ll finally get that nap.”

Jeremy chuckled lightly, wiping at his tears.

“Promise?” He sniffled.

“If it’s the death of me,” Ryan promised firmly, “I promise will take you away from this and you can finally rest.”

Jeremy squeezed his hand tightly.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

~

Jeremy smiled as they passed LS city limits. It’d been only a week (or maybe two? He was having trouble keeping track), but he’d missed it. He’d lived in LS since losing his leg and it was the closest thing he had to a hometown. He didn’t know where he’d been before moving to the orphanage in Masston. He’d been about four, he thought, when he arrived there and he couldn’t remember anything earlier than that.

That made entering LS like coming home. The city had mostly returned to its regular state, apparently a new mayor had been appointed and the chaos had returned to regular levels. So still pretty high, but livable. Apparently the pigs and the new mayor weren’t with HIT now, but Jeremy wasn’t so sure. He’d never heard of this Ramsey guy before. He wasn’t sure he could be trusted. 

Which was why they were headed for city hall. Ryan wasn’t a huge fan of this plan, but Jeremy had faith they could find their way back out ifthey needed to. But according to what they’d heard, the guy was decent and at least on the side of the citizens. So hopefully they wouldn’t have to fight. 

Jeremy was reconsidering though when they got there and found security crawling all over the place. Maybe just walking in was a bad idea. But well, they did it anyway. _As always._ They passed through metal detectors without incident and approached the front desk.

“Hi there, I have an appointment with Mayor Ramsey,” Jeremy announced cheerfully, “My name is Jeremy Dooley.”

The receptionist froze, looking at him with wide, shocked eyes.

“Er, y-yes, right,” they sputtered, “He’s expecting you. Right through there.”

They gestured at the doors behind them. _Expecting me?_ Jeremy frowned. _Why would he be expecting me?_ He and Ryan went around the desk to the doors and pushed through them. Jeremy’s jaw tightened as he walked toward the new mayor.

“Mayor Ramsey,” he greeted tightly, crossing his arms, “I had such high hopes you’d be a good guy. I’d heard such good things about you, you little weasel.”

King snorted, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m not working for them,” he assured them, “Though I doubt you’ll believe me, I‘m cooperating because they put a modified implant in me. These implants can control emotions. They like to use fear the most.”

Jeremy nearly visibly flinched.

_“You don’t understand!” Red protested, “I need that hand! They’re-!”_

He wasn’t working for HIT, he was working for Rooster Inc. and they were manipulating his emotions. Jeremy reached over the desk and grabbed King by his suit jacket.

“H-How did you stop it?!” He demanded, “Did you just take it out?? Tell me how to fix it!”

“No, they fused the implant to my brain,” King grunted, “It’s still there, actually. But we found a way to block their signal, without alerting them. Now they think they’re controlling me, even though they’re not.”

Jeremy shoved him away and puffed out some shaky breaths. Ryan squeezed his shoulder. _Right. Rebellion. Snake._

“We’re getting rid of HIT,” he explained, “And we need as many men as we can get.”

“You’ve come to the right man,” King laughed, “I happen to know a city full of the right men for the job. But what about Rooster Inc?”

“They’ll go down once we’re done with HIT,” Jeremy growled, fists clenching.

“I look forward to it,” King muttered, “So tell me what you need.”

Jeremy and Ryan sat to discuss their plans, but Jeremy’s mind kept wandering. He’d suspected the theory of manipulation had been correct, but this was even worse than he imagined. He’d thought they’d just threatened Red, not literally forced him to be terrified of them. 

Though it sucked, it _did_ present them with new information that could be useful. Rooster Inc. was after the hand, which meant they probably knew what it was and they were trying to take it behind HIT’s back. Red had been right when he said they were keeping secrets from each other. Had he been under their control when he suggested that? Maybe he’d been trying to hint at something even though he couldn’t tell Jeremy anything outright. 

Jeremy looked down at his hand. He’d mentioned that too. That it was special. He was trying to hint that HIT and Rooster Inc. both wanted it. Maybe he was even trying to warn Jeremy that he knew it was special because he’d been tasked to retrieve it. Jeremy clenched his fist.

He was so tired of fucking losing. They kept taking from him, more and more. He was ready for this to be over so he could run away with Ryan and forget the world around him. He didn’t want to be tired and angry and sad any more. He wanted to be at least at peace. 

He didn’t want to keep fighting and losing. Wasn’t it someone else’s turn for a change? Maybe it was selfish of him, but he didn’t care. He barely had anything left and he wasn’t going to let them take that too. HIT’s head would be chopped off and that would be the end for him. _Finally._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow’s last chapter. Woot woot. Moving on to regular fics again.


	38. Chapter 38

Jeremy was sweating badly as they directed the leaders of HIT to the side of the building while the copious other employees went the other way. _These SWAT uniforms fucking suck._ He tugged a bit at the vest as he followed after the leaders, trying to count them up. He never got to the end of the count though.

The SWAT team, or more accurately the rebels pretending to be the SWAT team, surrounded the eight leaders. Jeremy took his helmet off and shook his sweaty hair, grinning.

“Good morning, HIT leaders,” he greeted cheerfully, “It’s your favorite one-legged survivor, Jeremy Dooley.“

The leaders all stiffened, now noticing they were surrounded.

“What do you want?” A woman with cool blue eyes questioned.

“Justice, Mrs. Haywood,” Jeremy answered tightly, “Where shall we start?”

“What have you done with my son?” Haywood growled.

Jeremy squinted at her.

“What?” He grunted.

“My son, you took my son!” She spat, “Tell me where he is!”

Jeremy was genuinely confused. _Took your son?? What the fuck does that mean??_ One of the others stepped up beside him and leaned toward his ear. 

“She’s accusing us of kidnapping her son, James,” Ryan muttered.

“Oh, I see,” Jeremy snorted, rolling his eyes, “Don’t waste my time with theatrics, Haywood. We both know I have nothing to do with the disappearance of your child.”

“I have seen you with him,” Haywood insisted.

“I didn’t say I didn’t know him,” Jeremy pointed out, “In fact I know him _very_ well. I just said I didn’t kidnap him. What’s your goal here, exactly? You want your son to think you give a shit?”

He propped his AK on his shoulder.

“There’s low chance of that, lady,” he assured her, “In fact, I think he knows exactly how little you care about him.”

“I am his mother, of course I care about him!” Haywood huffed, “I care way more than you possibly could, you stupid little slut!”

Ryan moved in the blink of an eye.

_ Smack! _

Haywood stumbled to the side, nearly falling as her son slapped her across the face. He gripped her shirt to haul her up to his face. He tore his helmet off and tossed it.

“I may not believe in an eye for an eye when it comes to my own,” he growled, “But you will pay for every insult and injury you inflict on my partner in crime.”

“She took your eye?!” Jeremy demanded.

“James, I am your mother!” Haywood huffed, “Unhand me this instant! I know I raised you better than this!”

“Oh, I’m exactly what you raised, mother,” Ryan sneered, “A cold-blooded snake. You think I give a fuck about justice? The world can burn for all I care. But anyone and I mean _anyone,_ that hurts Jeremy Dooley will be punished.”

He dropped her back off her toes and she wobbled as he turned away from her. Her hand snapped out and grabbed his hair, yanking him back. He faltered and Jeremy watched what Ryan must’ve seen from _him_ dozens of times. He suddenly changed, eyes full of the pain of the past, his body curling in on itself, his face going pale. The painful ghosts of his memories were haunting him. This was something she’d done before. 

Jeremy dashed forward as his hand zapped him. The new blade on his hand slashed across the woman’s face. Directly over the same eye Ryan was missing.

“Eye for an eye,” Jeremy whispered as his other arm looped around Ryan to hold him up, “You will never hurt him again.”

He pulled Ryan away from her.

“Get them in the vans,” he ordered the others.

Ryan was shakily touching his hair.

“She’s not gonna hurt you again,” Jeremy assured him, wincing as his hand turned back, “And your hair is still intact, don’t worry.”

Ryan buried his face in Jeremy’s shoulder, gripping at his vest. Jeremy held him tightly.

“I’ve got you, partner,” he soothed.

_Horrid bitch._ Jeremy didn’t feel bad about where they were taking her. God, his head was pounding now. 

“Let’s go,” he murmured, “We’re done here.”

Ryan was a little wobbly, but he got in their getaway vehicle and pressed close to Jeremy’s side.

“I still don’t want to know,” he sniffled.

“Good, I wasn’t gonna tell you,” Jeremy snorted.

“My hero,” Ryan chuckled.

“I can’t resist a damsel in distress,” Jeremy joked.

Ryan laid his head on Jeremy’s shoulder.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“We should take your hand off as soon as possible,” Ryan added.

“Er, okay,” Jeremy agreed, “You’re the boss.”

~

Ryan insisted on Jeremy going to a doctor before they disappeared. It became apparent why that was when there was a scan done on his brain. This was after the doctor asked Jeremy several questions about his memory, his comprehension, and math which pissed Jeremy off. He hated math, especially when he was failing at it. 

“So...brain damage,” Jeremy muttered, “That’s why you wanted me to see a doctor.”

“Yes,” Ryan confirmed.

“And how long have you known?” Jeremy asked.

“I didn’t know for sure, then you struggled to understand my mother,” Ryan admitted, “But...there have been signs that concerned me that I wasn’t sure about. Memory loss, sleep trouble, fainting, difficulty paying attention, changes in smell and taste, fatigue, headaches. A lot of it could’ve been your PTSD and depression, some could’ve been you still recovering. And with everything going on, I couldn’t focus on it enough.”

Jeremy puffed out a sigh.

“Okay,” he grunted, “So...is disappearing out of the question now? Will it be too hard for you to put up with dragging me around?”

“No, but...” Ryan mumbled, fidgeting and not looking at Jeremy, “It’s my fault. The nano machines added with your head injury caused this.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s your fault,” Jeremy dismissed, “You didn’t know this would happen and you didn’t hit me in the head. Nor did you ever force the hand on me. You warned me about the risks, Ry. You said it could hurt me, but I did it anyway. Neither of us knew _this_ specifically would happen, but we knew it was risky.”

Ryan wiped at his tears.

“I shouldn’t have tested it on you,” he mumbled, “It wasn’t ready to be tested. I should’ve waited. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Jeremy assured him, “Now let’s not worry about it any more. I mean, we’ll be careful with my head from now on, but I want to finally get my rest. I don’t need a brain to relax.”

He grinned at Ryan who puffed out a surprised laugh, shaking his head.

“Every time, you cheer me up every time,” he muttered, “How do you do that?”

“No frowns on my watch, partner,” Jeremy joked, “firing” a finger gun at him.

Ryan got up to hug him tightly. 

“I am glad you are here with me,” Jeremy whispered, “Here at the end of all things, Sam.”

“Yes, I am with you, Master,” Ryan murmured, “And you're with me. And the journey’s finished.”

Jeremy smiled. _Yes, the journey’s finished._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are at the end of yet another fic. Originally there were plans to make four versions of this fic, two set in alternate realities, but it’s turned out wayyy longer than anticipated, soooo that would be a lot of work. 😅  
> Thank you to everyone who made it to the end, I’m so happy you stuck around! ❤️ A very big thank you to those of you who took the time to comment as well, I really appreciate that more than you realize.   
> Anyway, we’re moving onwards, but maybe not upwards to a very serious recovery fic and a sillier chance meeting kind of fic. Both with the usual pairing because I don’t know how to write anything else, apparently. I hope to see you there! As always, may your paths stay lit, little stars~✨!


End file.
